North Central Public Health District Health Officer Dr. Mimi McDonell presented data to the Wasco County Commission on Wednesday showing Hispanic and Latino residents being disproportionately impacted by COVID-19.  McDonell told the Commission statistics show they have received 45.6% of positive COVID-19 tests in Wasco County in a population that represents about 20% of the County.  McDonell said migrant workers in the agricultural sector were included in the data.  43.9% of Wasco County’s COVID-19 cases have been among non-Hispanics and Latinos, while 10.5% were unknown.  McDonell also showed age group numbers showing in the last few weeks the trend has been for more younger people testing positive, a change from a couple of months ago when the largest amount of positives came in the 40 to 50 year old age group.

The Fir Mountain Fire is now 50% contained.  The Oregon Department of Forestry reports they now have the fire completely lined with dozerline, roads, and handline.  Breezy conditions on Wednesday night produced new interior consumption of previously unburned pockets within the containment line…but firefighters kept the fire within the existing footprint.   Crews Thursday will continue to strengthen the perimeter by increasing the depth of the cooled ground interior of the fireline.  With windy conditions expected, firefighters will be gridding the perimeter of the fire.  The fire is 313 acres in size.  It was first reported late Saturday and remains under investigation.

A Pacific Power executive says their goal is to complete system improvements and safety measures that would result in the Hood River and Mosier areas from being removed from consideration for Public Safety Power Shutoff during periods of extreme fire danger by the end of next year.  Pacificorp Vice President of External Affairs Scott Bolton said on Mid-Columbia Today on Wednesday that work done so far has already removed over 80% of the customers in the area, including all of the Hood River city limits, from the potential of a shutoff.  Measures that have been taken include new insulated conductors, new switching capabilities to isolate areas, more weather monitoring capabilities, and aggressive management of vegetation near power lines.

North Wasco County School District 21 is planning to provide online registration for this coming school year in all grades, not just for high schoolers as in the past.  D-21 Interim Superintendent Theresa Peters told the Wasco County Commission on Wednesday that will be for returning students.  She says as part of the registration process, they will be asking parents about any technological needs they may have so their children can take part in online learning.  Peters says they have federal grant dollars through the CARES Act for wi-fi hotspots.

There are statistics on COVID-19 being updated every day at the national, state, and local level.  But what does it all mean?  Hood River County Health Department Health Officer Dr. Christopher Van Tilburg says he follows the weekly number of new cases and the test positivity rate. But in a Facebook post he offers a word of caution, saying it doesn’t equal the prevalence of coronavirus in the community.  He says that’s because of a number of reasons including fluctuations in testing of asymptomatic people, false negatives, timing of getting test results back, and a lag in the compilation of local and state statistics.  Van Tilburg emphasizes statistics shouldn’t be used to guide behavior.  

The Next Door has established an information and referral phone line to provide information on various services available around the region.  The Next Door’s Ebelia Rodrigues says their Next Connection line is designed to help people looking for services to get started.  The Next Connection is available weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.  The number is 541-308-7099, and bilingual staff is available.

Election returns from Tuesday night’s primary election in Klickitat County saw incumbent County Commissioner Jim Sizemore in a distant second to a fellow Republican.  Dan Christopher received just over 60 percent of the vote in District 3 with 729…while Sizemore has 280 and Democrat Miland Walling has 195.  The top two move on to the primary.  Ballots only had to be postmarked by Tuesday…so ballot counts will continue for the next few days.  Over three-thousand ballots remained to be counted.  In the other Klickitat County Commission vote in District 1…Democrat Joanna Turner had 532 votes and Republican Jacob Anderson 406…with both headed to the general election in November.  In the only contested race in the 14^th Legislative District…Republican incumbent Chris Corry received 63 percent of the vote and Democrat Tracy Rushing 34 percent, with the remaining to Education Party candidate William Razey had just under three percent.  In the Third Congressional District…Republican incumbent Jamie Herrera-Beutler and Democrat Carolyn Long were easily advancing to face each other for the second straight time in November.  Also on the Klickitat County ballot…a property tax levy in the Dallesport Fire District was being defeated by a single vote…98-to-97.

Firefighters on Tuesday held the Fir Mountain Fire within its perimeter in spite of breezy afternoon winds, with the only activity from consumption of unburned fuels within the perimeter.  The Oregon Department of Forestry reports that fire behavior moderated from the last few days, allowing firefighters to focus on establishing and reinforcing firelines.  Containment for the fire has increased to 30%, and it remains 313 acres in size.  Helicopters were used on Tuesday to drop water and cool the spot fires on the eastern flank to allow ground resources to build fireline on the edge of the fire, with heavy equipment being used where possible while hand crews work in more difficult terrain.  Heavy fuels continue to be a problem, and but on the east flank construction of hoselays has begun to deliver water to that area of the fire.  Additional personnel arrived on Tuesday to bring the total number to 400.  The fire was first reported last Saturday, and remains under investigation.

Hood River County Health Department Director Trish Elliott says along with asking the Oregon Health Authority for more help with testing after the County was placed on the state’s COVID-19 watch list last week, she would also like to see more support to analyze epidemiological data in the county.  The OHA has stated it would provide more support to counties on the watch list, but Elliott told the Hood River County Commission on Monday that she has not heard back on her request.  Elliott says small counties can use the help to sort through the data that is available to help better target resources.  Elliott did tell the Commission that the County is seeing a high rate of Hispanic residents testing positive for COVID-19 compared to non-Hispanic, and they are not sure why.  Also, Elliott said they have seen an uptick in positive tests among those age 10 to 40 years old, adding they feel there has been an impact from social gatherings outside of the workplace.

Public lands managers throughout the Gorge are banding together to ask everyone to keep recreational sites clean and free of litter.  Resources and staffing capacities are stretched thin, making it difficult to keep up with maintenance, cleaning, and trash removal.  Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area Manager Lynn Burditt told the Hood River County Commission on Monday the bi-state group is asking everyone to help.  When visiting public lands…people are asked to plan to pack out what you pack in, bring an extra bag to collect errant litter and waste, if using available trash containers make sure everything is completely inside, and be kind to the workers and volunteers who are helping to keep people and lands healthy and safe.