The Hood River Valley Harvest Festival takes place this weekend at the Waterfront Event Site.  Hood River County Chamber of Commerce events director Ashley Huckaby May says they have rearranged the layout of the festival for this year, with all art vendors under one large tent.  There will also be a kids’ activity area, complete with bouncy houses, face painting and other activities.  Harvest Fest will be open from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday.  Admission is $6 for adults, with seniors admitted for $3 on Friday and $5 Saturday and Sunday, and kids under 12 are free.

The Oregon Department of Forestry and local fire agencies in Hood River and Wasco counties will lift the burn ban in Wasco County and the modified burn ban in Hood River County as of 1 a.m. Saturday.  This applies to burn barrels and small backyard piles.  Large industrial piles and fuels treatment project piles are not being allowed.  Valid burn permits from either the Oregon Department of Forestry or local fire departments are still required for all outdoor burning activities.  Officials advise people to have an adequate buffer around any burn pile or barrel, have a good water source available, and digging tools are required in case there is an escaped fire.  Also plan burn activities on cool days when the wind is calm.

A four-hour closure of the Hood River-White Salmon Interstate Bridge planned for Thursday night has been cancelled.  The Port of Hood River says bridge engineers and work crews were able to complete the testing and equipment staging ahead of schedule.

Cross Country The Dalles girls finished second and the boys third in a four-school meet at Tualatin.  Emma Mullins finished fifth and Hanna Ziegenhagen sixth for the Riverhawk girls, while Sam Alvarez earned a fifth place finish in the boys race.   Columbia won both the boys and girls competitions in a dual meet with Stevenson on Wednesday at Strawberry Island.  The Bruins’ Dylan Beneventi won the boys’ race, and Haley Blair of CHS was the girls’ winner.   Boys Soccer Southwest Christian 4, Horizon Christian 3

Fishery managers from Oregon and Washington have scheduled two days of recreational white sturgeon fishing on the Columbia River below Bonneville Dam during the month of October.  Approved sturgeon retention days are Saturday, October 21 and Thursday, October 26.  The open area is the mainstem Columbia from the Wauna power lines, located 40 miles from the river mouth, upstream to the fishing deadline near Bonneville Dam.  The fishery is subject to a harvest guideline of 1,245 legal-sized white sturgeon.  Legal retention size is 44- to 50-inch fork length.  The bag limit is one legal-sized white sturgeon per day, and no more than two for the year.  This is the first sturgeon retention season between Wauna and Bonneville since 2013.

Firefighters have now completed most of the suppression repair work on the Eagle Creek Fire.  A cold front that has moved into the area bringing cooler temperatures and rain has further reduced the potential for any significant fire activity.  The wildfire is listed at 50 percent contained where the majority of containment lines are near communities, infrastructure and along road systems.   The uncontained portion of the fire is in steep, inaccessible terrain and fire managers do not anticipate the wildfire will spread in these areas.  Residents and visitors may see visible smoke coming from the fire area, but the heat is well within established containment lines.  In some areas much of the vegetation and root systems that stabilize rocks, logs and ultimately entire hillsides have been consumed by fire.   As a result, standing dead trees, large diameter logs and rolling rocks will continue falling onto roads and trails, and rockslides and landslides are also a threat especially after heavy rainfall.  An area closure will limit access to some recreation sites and roads for the foreseeable future.

Interstate 84 will see rolling slowdowns and delays between 12:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. Thursday in the Lindsay Creek area near milepost 53 for rock blasting necessary to build the latest segment of the Historic Columbia River Highway State Trail.  The delays, which could last up to an hour, are the second in a series of as many as seven closures needed in the coming weeks for controlled blasting at that location.  The blasting is necessary for construction of the Historic Columbia River Highway State Trail segment connecting Wyeth and Lindsey Creek.  It is located in the same area where eastbound traffic is temporarily diverted into one lane of westbound I-84 due to fire debris removal activity from the Eagle Creek Fire.  As part of the State Trail construction, a contractor was to begin rock scaling Wednesday to remove loose rock from the slopes at Shellrock Mountain.  No additional traffic impacts are anticipated at this time.

The Hood River/White Salmon Interstate Bridge will be closed to all traffic late Wednesday and Thursday nights.  The four-hour, total closures will begin at 11:00 p.m. and continue through 3:00 a.m. the following morning.  Only emergency response vehicles will have access to the bridge during these hours.

Mid-Columbia Fire and Rescue crews responded to a small fire early this morning along Interstate 84 near milepost 82.  The 30 foot by 30 foot fire was burning just after 4 a.m.  MCFR reports show crews were told by a homeless man that was camping at the fire site that he had built a small warming fire and then fell asleep.  When he awoke the fire had spread into the contents of his camp.  No one was injured in the fire.  MCFR Chief Bob Palmer issued a reminder that a burn ban remains in effect in Wasco County.

Volleyball Hood River Valley def. Pendleton 20-25, 25-17, 25-23, 25-18:  The Eagles win despite missing two key players, and move into sole possession of first place in the Columbia River Conference.  HRV is now one match ahead of Pendleton with two to play, and also holds the tiebreaker by winning the season series over the Buckaroos. Hermiston def. The Dalles 27-25, 11-25, 23-25, 25-20, 15-11 Dufur def. Sherman 26-24, 20-25, 25-12, 25-16 South Wasco def. Ione 3 sets to 0   Boys Soccer Hood River Valley 2, The Dalles 1:  The Eagles move into first place in the Columbia River Conference on their own as Hermiston played to a 1-1 draw with Pendleton.   Girls Soccer Hood River Valley 5, The Dalles 0:  Makena Zorza scored twice as the Eagles took over first place in the Columbia River Conference.   Girls Water Polo Hood River Valley 13, Barlow 5