Date: Sept. 16, 2020 The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, Lane Regional Air Protection Agency and the Southwest Washington Clean Air Agency updated an air quality advisory Wednesday for Oregon and Southwest Washington due to smoke from fires in Oregon, Washington and California. ** Información en español ** DEQ has lifted the air quality advisory for the Oregon Coast. The coast should…
Birch Creek Fire Update
Sept. 16, 2020 PENDLETON, Ore. – Improved weather conditions aided firefighters battling the Birch Creek Fire yesterday, which is burning on the North Fork John Day Ranger District west of the junctions of Forest Service Road (FSR) 54 with FSR 5412 and FSR 5411, approximately 12 miles northeast of Ukiah, Oregon. A local Type 3 Incident Management Team led by…
Area and road closure implemented on the Birch Creek Fire
Sept. 15, 2020 PENDLETON, Ore. – Forest officials have implemented an area and road closure surrounding the Birch Creek Fire for public and firefighter safety. The Birch Creek Fire is burning on the North Fork John Day Ranger District west of the junctions of Forest Service Road (FSR) 54 with FSR 5412 and FSR 5411, approximately 12 miles northeast of…
Temporary Closure at Wildhorse Due to Air Quality
Sept. 15, 2020 Mission, OR – Due to air quality conditions, Wildhorse Resort & Casino will close some of its operations out of an abundance of caution for guests and employees. Gaming operations will close at 4am on Wednesday, September 16. On-site restaurants and the Cineplex will close this evening, September 15, at regular closing times and reopen Thursday at…
Governor Kate Brown Announces Unified Law Enforcement Plan to Protect Free Speech, Bring Violence to an End in Portland
This is an Aug. 30 news release from the office of Oregon Gov. Kate Brown Plan includes community forum for Mayor Wheeler, protest organizers, and community leaders to work toward racial justice and police reform in City of Portland (Salem, OR) — Governor Kate Brown Sunday, Aug. 31, released the details of a unified law enforcement plan to protect free speech and bring violence…
CTUIR strives for effective testing and tracing
An official news release from the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation: AUGUST 26 – MISSION – Yellowhawk Tribal Health Center (Yellowhawk) continues to provide regular COVID testing to enrolled Tribal Members of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR). As testing has steadily increased, Yellowhawk has identified some challenges to ensuring testing is performed in a timely manner. The CTUIR…
Chromebooks for students delayed due to national demand
From a news release issued Aug. 25 by the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation MISSION – In July, the Board of Trustees (BOT) for the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) approved the purchase of a Chromebook for every school-age tribal member. However, due to increased demand across the country, the Chromebooks are not expected to arrive…
Update on Meacham Complex fire
August 24 – Mike Almas’ Northern Rockies Type 2 Incident Management Team (IMT) began managing the Meacham Complex on Friday, August 21, 2020. The Meacham Complex of fires includes the Hager Ridge Fire, Horse Fire, 896 (Horseshoe Ridge) Fire, and other smaller fires located approximately twenty five miles east/southeast of Pendleton, Oregon. In addition to those fires, Mike Almas’ IMT…
Use caution if family members test positive for COVID
Press release from the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation Mission, OR. – The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation Incident Command Team urges residents of the Umatilla Indian Reservation to exercise caution when interacting with those who have tested positive for the COVID-19 virus. Over the past week, Yellowhawk Tribal Health Center identified six people who tested…
Oregon testing rate stabilizes
August 25 – Oregon Health Authority released its Weekly Testing Report today, which showed that as of August 22, Oregon’s cumulative positive testing rate is 4.5 percent of people tested. This is considerably lower than the national average of 9 percent. Of the 24,177 people tested the week of Aug. 16-22, 1,233 (5.1%) were positive. The total for that week…