wildfire
Posted inElections

Vote Morgan Schmidt for Deschutes County Commission, Pos. 5

With four candidates in this race, voters may very well get to vote again in November
by The Source Editorial Board

Like a lot of the races for the Deschutes County Board of County Commissioners this May, the one for Position 5 is a crowded field. Voters will see four names on their ballots for this seat — one of two seats that are being added after voters previously moved to expand the county commission. If […]

Posted inOpinion

Do We Have to Decide Between Fire Safety and Housing? 

Home-hardening codes can save homes. But some will say they’re at the expense of building more homes in the first place.
by The Source Editorial Board

The City of Sisters got a lot of attention when it became one of the first cities in Oregon to adopt a set of codes around home hardening and defensible space. Now, the City of Bend is set to vote on doing something very similar. The codes may raise the price of new homes slightly […]

Posted inNews

Grandview Fire Nears Sisters

The fire was first reported on Sunday before spreading to over 4,500 acres
Avatar photo by Jack Harvel

The Grandview Fire was first reported on Sunday afternoon and by Tuesday was raging over 4,500 acres of private land protected by the Oregon Department of Forestry and the Crooked River National Grassland which is managed by the U.S. Forest Service. It was visible from Sisters and Redmond on Sunday evening, but it didn’t enter […]

Posted inNews

Fireworks Banned Through August

The City extended the ban due to continued fire risk in the area
Avatar photo by Jack Harvel

The City of Bend is extending the state of emergency that banned non-professional firework use and provided services to unhoused communities until August 31. The emergency order went into effect on June 28 and was originally set to expire on July 9, but was extended due to continued fire risk. “We appreciate the community’s assistance […]

Posted inNews

Fire in Warm Springs

A fire on the Warm Springs reservation reached over 6,000 acres; crews called in for backup during a hot weekend
Avatar photo by Jack Harvel

A fire on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation spread to an estimated 6,200 acres at the start of the week. The S-503 fire was first spotted on Friday, June 18; by Saturday morning it had spread to an estimated 250 acres and grew rapidly over the hot and windy day. By the end of Saturday Warm […]

Posted inNews

Too Hot To Handle

Oregon’s fire season is starting earlier than it has in recorded history. How are agencies preparing?
Avatar photo by Jack Harvel

With the entire state in some form of drought, Oregon’s fire season is starting earlier than it has in recorded history. The season could be as devastating as last year’s wildfires that swept over 1 million acres and destroyed thousands of homes, officials say. The potential for disaster has spurred public officials across the state […]

Posted inNews

Q & A with Deschutes County Forester Ed Keith

Deschutes County is one of the only counties in the state with a forester dedicated to reducing wildfire risk. We chat with him about what he does—and what homeowners can do to protect themselves
Laurel Brauns

NEWS—Wildfire expert and County Forester Ed Keith talks to the Source about why the recent fires happened all at once, what causes fires in Oregon and what people in Bend are doing to keep the community protected from megafires in the future.

Posted inNews

Staggering Numbers: Nearly a Million Acres Burning, Half a Million People Under Evacuation Orders

Officials offer guidance for hazardous air quality, now in Central Oregon
Avatar photo Nicole Vulcan and Laurel Brauns

The numbers are almost too much to fathom: As of late Thursday, a record-breaking 900,000 acres of land in Oregon was on fire. With that, 500,000 people are under some type of evacuation order. (Update: This is corrected from an earlier report; an estimated 500,000 people are under either a Level 1, 2 or 3 […]

Posted inNews

Wildfires Blast Oregon

Smoke, fires, road closures plague the region, leaving Central Oregonians asking, “are we next?”
Avatar photo Nicole Vulcan

Fires raging in numerous locations around Oregon prompted Gov. Kate Brown to approve an emergency conflagration declaration Tuesday for three blazes located on the western slope of the Cascade range. Brown approved the emergency declaration—which allows the Oregon Office of the State Fire Marshal to bring in more resources—for the Beachie Creek (also called the […]

Posted inCulture

Wildfire Ceramic Showcase

Clay Guild aims to connect people to the beauty and variety of the clay art form
Teafly Peterson

This time of year can get exciting for those who like to collect art and other unique handmade items, as sales and collective showcases are beginning to pop up. On Nov. 2, the Clay Guild of the Cascades will hold its annual Wildfire Ceramics Showcase in the gymnasium of Highland Magnet School, featuring the work […]

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