Containment of the Nena Springs Fire is now up to 80 percent.  The fire on the Warm Springs Reservation remains at 40,000 acres in size.  A few scattered hot locations within the fire perimeter began to increase in smoke and flame activity in the afternoon.  But they were well within the fire perimeter, and the potential for escape is low, even though they will generate additional smoke during the peak burning period of the day.  Several crews are spiked-out near the northern edge of the fire to secure the line along the fire’s edge from Nena Creek east to the Deschutes River.  As progress continues toward containment, some of the crews, engines, and heavy equipment are being released from this incident and being made available for other fires in the region.

Efforts to contain odors at the City of Hood River’s wastewater treatment plant are continuing.  City Manager Steve Wheeler says a specialist from plant manager CH2M will visit on Friday to offer suggestions.  Wheeler notes eliminating the odors from the plant on the waterfront has been a long-time pursuit, intensified by increased development in the waterfront area.  At the start of this month dumping at the plant was limited to mornings, which has resulted in odor reduction along the Waterfront in the afternoon and evenings.  A cover will be installed over a the plant’s splitter box and waste activated sludge storage tank to capture odorous air and run in through a biofilter, with construction to start in mid-September and expected to be finished in January.  There are plans in the future to install a similar cover on the east aeration basin.

Plans to expand the greenscape in the Klindt Cove Park on Port of The Dalles property are in the works.  Port Executive Director Andrea Klaas says they are partnering with the Northern Wasco County Parks and Recreation District, The Dalles Kiwanis Club and local businesses, and they have a grant from the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department for $70,000 to pay for the expansion.  Klaas says plans include a children’s play area and family barbecue area, and they have a site plan ready to submit to the City for approval.  Klaas added they would like to find a way to have limited infrastructure in place to aid in holding events at the park.

Hood River County staff expects to present County Commissioners options to generate revenue to deal with an ever-tightening budget.  County Administrator Jeff Hecksel expects to provide commissioners with options in the next 30 days.  He adds two options being looked at it are a limited scope sales tax to generate more revenue from tourists in the area, and a public safety district.  Commission Chair Ron Rivers has been warning of substantial cuts in county services if a new source of revenue is not developed, adding property tax growth is limited by Measure 5 laws and forest receipts can’t keep pace with cost increases.

An accident involving a semi-trailer and three Oregon Department of Transportation vehicles has clogged up traffic on westbound Interstate 84 between The Dalles and Mayer State Park.  An ODOT spokesman says no one was hurt, but a lot of material was spilled on the freeway at milepost 77, making for lengthy clean-up.  Westbound I-84 has reportedly had up to four mile backups since the accident occurred around 10:30 Monday morning.  The accident occurred on the inside westbound lane next to the median.

A little bit of rain and a lot of hard work kept the Nena Springs Fire from growing on Sunday.  The fire on the Warm Springs Reservation is 40-thousand acres in size, with containment now at 60 percent.  Cooler and damp weather prevented firefighters from doing any burnout operations, but the conditions allowed them to safely address significant parts of the uncontained perimeter.  Structure protection resources are making good progress around the communities of Simnasho, Mutton Mountain and Indian Head Canyon to assure that no more structures are lost.  Firefighters made good progress around the southern edge of the recent growth of the fire into the Deschutes River Canyon.  Today crews will continue to mop-up areas near the fire’s perimeter, especially near homes and structures.  Several crews are spiked-out near the northern edge of the fire to secure the line along the fire’s edge from Nena Creek east to the Deschutes River.  As progress continues toward containment, some of the crews, engines, and heavy equipment are being released from this incident and being made available for other fires in the region.

A fire 11 miles northeast of Goldendale about three to four miles west of Brooks Park had burned about 105 acres, .and containment is now at 25 percent.  Rain and cooler temperatures Sunday slowed the Headwater Fire’s growth and let dozers and ground crews contain about 25 percent of the fire.  Crews worked through cold temperatures Sunday night to solidify containment lines, and Monday’s efforts are expected to increase containment to approximately 40 percent.  Commanders expect the fire to be fully contained by the end of Thursday.  The fire started on Saturday afternoon in an area of heavy timber.  A Southeast Washington Interagency Incident Management Team has been assigned to the fire.

The Dalles Public Works will begin a pavement preservation project Wednesday on East 10^th Street between Thompson Street and Dry Hollow Road.  A full road closure will be in effect Wednesday and Thursday mornings.   During road closure hours, motorists are encouraged to use East 12th Street as an alternative route to avoid the work area.  Chip sealing work is scheduled on Wednesday from 7:00 a.m. to approximately noon.  When East 10^th is reopened for traffic, speeds will be reduced to 15 or 20 miles per hour to keep vehicles from dislodging the cover rock and reduce the instances of loose flying rock as the chip seal cures. Early morning street sweeping will begin on Thursday at 7:00 a.m. in order to remove loose rock before a thin coat of asphalt is applied to extend the useful life of the repaired road surface.  All work is expected to be completed by noon.

A man who lives outside of Biggs Junction was arrested by the Oregon State Police on suspicion of having a BHO lab in his home.  According to the Oregon State Police, troopers went to the residence of 39-year-old Trevor Patrick Beers Wednesday evening to execute a search warrant stemming from an assault involving Beers and a commercial truck driver at a truck stop in Biggs earlier in the day.  Troopers found evidence indicating Beers was involved in manufacture and extraction of cannabinoids from marijuana in concentrated form within his home.  Manufacturing BHO in a home is illegal in Oregon.  Beers was taken into custody without incident and lodged at NORCOR on charges of unlawful manufacture of marijuana extract, and two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm and harassment resulting from the altercation with the truck driver.

There are planned power outages in the Klickitat PUD service area this weekend.  The first starts at midnight Friday and continues until 5 a.m. Saturday affecting all customers in Lyle, High Prairie, Timber Valley, and Appleton, including Old Highway 8, Highway 142 to milepost 6, Balch Road, Lyle-Snowden Road, McGowan Road, Appleton Road, Fisher Hill Road, the Centerville Highway to milepost 12, High Prairie Road, Oda Knight Road, Struck Road, Hartland Road, Schilling Road, and surrounding areas.  The second will begin at midnight Saturday and continue until 5 a.m. Sunday affecting all customers in the towns of Bingen and White Salmon, and surrounding areas of Snowden, Pucker Huddle, West Jewett Boulevard, Courtney Road, Bill Moore Road, and Panakanic.  In both cases, the outages will allow the BPA and Klickitat PUD to perform critical transmission line maintenance.