Pacific Power gave a presentation on its wildfire mitigation plan to the Oregon Public Utility Commission on Tuesday, which includes provisions for “Public Safety Power Shutoff” when there are extreme conditions in areas at risk of fast-spreading wildfires, including portions of the Hood River-Mosier area.  When asked by a commissioner when Pacific Power would reveal criteria conditions for a shutoff, company vice president of operations David Lucas said they are reluctant do that right now as they add equipment to refine their guidelines.  He told the PUC that they consider the plans “internal and operational” and are somewhat concerned about getting “stealth data out in the public they would never be able to get back.”  No one from the Mid-Columbia testified to the panel, but Josephine County Commissioner Lily Morgan, representing another county at high risk for wildfire, said while Pacific Power has been making sure they are at the table as plans are put together they still have concerns about the shutoffs, including the amount of area involved, and the impact on infrastructure and medical facilities, noting it is a lot to ask of small counties in a short amount of time to be prepared for the shutoffs.  Pacific Power’s wildfire mitigation plan includes more aggressive vegetation management around its facilities, increased inspections of those locations, and training employees to be able to respond to fire when they see something happen.

Hood River County Commissioners unanimously approved a budget for the 2019-20 fiscal year essentially as recommended by the County’s budget committee.  The one change was in regard to Oak Grove Park, as Commissioners accepted an offer from Friends of Oak Grove Park to continue to pay for maintenance of that facility for another six months.  Commissioners did point out while they passed the budget, that doesn’t mean they have to spend the money allocated, and they plan to embark on developing priorities for what County services will look like if they cannot get voters to approve new funding.  The Commission will hold a worksession on July 1 at 3 p.m. in the County Administration Building to discuss that while also sorting through their options for another attempt at a tax levy of some kind, either this November or next May.  Commission Chair Mike Oates says they will need to sift through a lot of information during that process.  The Commission is also hoping to gather consultants at the July 1 meeting to get advice on how to go about crafting a new ballot measure for a levy after seeing two proposals go down to defeat in May.

Wasco County received final formal FEMA approval of their updated Multi-Jurisdictional Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan.  This plan covers the County and the City of The Dalles.  Updating the plan is a federal requirement that must be undertaken every five years to maintain eligibility for certain mitigation grants, and to establish a comprehensive community level mitigation strategy.  Last week about 40 representatives from more than 20 different local, state, and federal agencies convened to examine the recently approved plan brainstorm and prioritize mitigation actions, learn about grants and mitigation best practices, and receive the latest community outreach materials and tools available.  The Wasco County Commission is now seeking a FEMA grant to update their Community Wildfire Protection Plan, which has not been done since 2005.

Both the Hood River Police Department and Hood River County Sheriff’s Office are reporting cougar sightings.  Hood River Police say a cougar was reported underneath a vehicle on 18th Street and Cascade Avenue on Monday night at around 11 p.m.  The reporting party said they watched the cougar walk around the building, but officers searched the area were unable to located the animal.  It was seen again near 13th Avenue and Sherman walking south towards May Street, but again officers could not locate it in the dense creek near Katie’s Lane.  The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife was notified.  The sheriff’s office has also had multiple sightings of a cougar in Cascade Locks, as well as one in the Post Canyon area.  If you come in contact or see a cougar call 9-1-1 immediately.

A bill sponsored by 29th District Senator Bill Hansell to make farmers, ranchers, and volunteers immune from civil liabilities was signed by Governor Kate Brown.  Senate Bill 290 was inspired by the 2018 Substation Fire in Wasco and Sherman counties last year.  Hansell calls it a “Good Samaritan” bill to protect the farmers and ranchers who plow fire lines from liability.  Hansell and members of the Oregon Wheat Growers League witnessed the ceremonial signing of the bill by the Governor.  The new law will become effective at the start of next year.

Backers of an initiative petition to amend the Hood River City Charter to require authorization from voters before municipal parkland could be sold has turned in more than the required number of signatures to qualify for the ballot.  Kim Kean at the Hood River County elections’ office says 1,245 signatures were collected, well over the 762 needed to reach the November ballot.  Signatures must still be verified.  The petition, filed by Brian Carlstrom and Tracey Tomashpol, would amend the City of Hood River’s charter to require an authorization by the city’s voters before city parks could be sold or transferred for any purpose not related to public recreation. 

Wasco County road crews will begin work on several pavement preservation projects in the City of The Dalles.   This work has been scheduled for Wednesday, Thursday, and Monday.  The chip seal projects will require short duration road closures between 7:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. at each location on the date the work is scheduled to take place.  Detours will be in place during work hours.  For locations, go to thedalles.org/transportation

Pacific Power will be presenting its updated wildfire mitigation plan to the Oregon Public Utility Commission on Tuesday, including provisions for what is termed a “Public Safety Power Shutoff” in areas that have been identified at high risk of fast-spreading wildfires, and portions of the Hood River-Mosier area are among them.  Pacific Power Senior Vice President of External Affairs Scott Bolton says the shutoffs would ensure fires can’t be started by electrical equipment, and he called them a “last resort” measure that would require conditions beyond a simple Red Flag Warning for very high temperatures and winds.  Bolton says they are in the process of updating their information to determine what parts of their Hood River service area would be impacted, but he indicated it would not include downtown Hood River and most of the City, but it would include a few outlying locations where they have circuits that would interface with a higher-risk fire area.  Bolton says part of their discussions with emergency managers around the state is developing channels of notification on how to most effectively provide notice of a shutoff.  He emphasized a shutoff would only take place in an extreme fire danger situation, noting weather data for the Hood River area indicates they would not have used this measure in the last eight years.  Pacific Power’s wildfire mitigation plan includes more aggressive vegetation management around its facilities…increased inspections of those locations, and training employees to be able to respond to fire when they see something happen.

The Oregon House of Representatives has passed a bill that would create new fees on oil train cars to pay for spill prevention and planning in the state.  The House passed the bill on a 55-3 vote, sending it to the state Senate for consideration.  Along with the fees, which would go to the state fire marshal and the state Department of Environmental Quality, the bill would require train operators to carry more insurance when operating the trains, to help pay for spill cleanup.  It would also require railroads that own or operate “high hazard train routes” to develop detailed safety and environmental response plans and demonstrate the ability to respond to and cover the cost of an oil spill.  The fees, which would go into effect this coming January 1, would raise about $1 million every two years before expiring in 2027.

Hood River fire crews were kept busy on Interstate 84 just west of the city over the weekend.  On Saturday morning, crews responded to a reported fire near the train tracks at Mitchell Point on milepost 58, closing a westbound lane of the freeway for a time and putting out the fire by early afternoon.  Later Saturday evening, they dealt with a car fire that kept eastbound I-84 shutdown for about an hour.  And on Sunday afternoon the fire at the Mitchell Point location restarted, sending firefighters there to quell the flames again, which they did in a fairly short period of time.  A recreational vehicle was destroyed in a fire Friday night in The Dalles.  According to Wasco County emergency dispatch reports, the fire occurred shortly before 11 p.m. Friday at 13th and Shearer.  The RV was a total loss, and another parked vehicle and a nearby home were damaged in the fire.