Klamath Basin News, Thursday, 8/5 – Air Quality Alert Through Friday And Red Flag Warning In The Klamath Basin Today

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The latest and most comprehensive coverage of local News, Sports, Business, and Community News stories in the Klamath Basin, Southern Oregon and around the state of Oregon from Wynne Broadcasting’s KFLS News/Talk 1450AM / 102.5FM, The Herald & News, and BasinLife.com, and powered by Mick Insuranceyour local health and Medicare agents.

Thursday, August 5, 2021

Klamath Basin Weather

Air Quality Alert
Red Flag Warning in effect from August 5, 12:00PM  until August 5, 10:00PM

Today Isolated showers and thunderstorms after 11am. Widespread smoke otherwise sunny, with a high near 83. Light and variable wind becoming west northwest 9 to 14 mph with gusts as high as 21 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.


Friday Widespread haze after 2pm. Patchy smoke before 2pm. Sunny, with a high near 87.
Saturday Areas of smoke. Sunny, with a high near 93.
Sunday Sunny, with a high near 87.
Monday Sunny, with a high near 90.

Today’s Headlines

Bootleg Fire Update, August 5, 2021   
Location: 28 miles northeast of Klamath Falls, OR   
Fireline total:  326 miles 
Size: 413,765 acres, 647 square miles
42 miles active fire edge, 284 miles of contained line 
Personnel: 1,387
Containment: 84% 

For the third consecutive day, a Red Flag Warning and Fire Weather Watch are in effect for this afternoon and evening. Thunderstorms associated with the edge of a cold front are forecast for today and are likely to bring gusty and erratic winds. 

Yesterday, smoke and ash from the Antelope Fire in northern California filled the sky, helping to somewhat moderate fire behavior.  Despite the conditions over the past two days, the Bootleg Fire line is holding with no spot fires.  

Fire activity has increased inside the fire perimeter, however. There remain patches of unburned fuels where the fire can spread and single- and group-tree torching has been observed. Snags and other hazard trees are common and crews and heavy equipment are still actively working the fire area. 

As a reminder, the Fremont-Winema National Forest remains closed north of Oregon State Route 140.  Public entry to the burn area is unsafe. U.S. Forest Service Renewable Resources Staff Officer Sean Ferrell commented: “We know you care for our firefighters and want to help in any way you can. The best thing you can do is be patient and honor the closure to give firefighters space so they can work safely.” 

The Alaska Incident Management Team will transition command back to the Pacific Northwest Team 2 on Friday.   

Community Meeting: Join us for a virtual community meeting tonight on Facebook live at 6:30 pm and streaming at the Paisley Community Center. Join us at www.facebook.com/BootlegFireInfo   

Evacuations: Lake County expanded the Level 1 (Get Ready) evacuation boundary to include the area north of Summer Lake. The expanded area extends from Mile Post 73 on Highway 31 north to Picture Rock Pass and east of the highway to include the Ana Subdivision. A Level 2 (Be Set) evacuation remains in place from milepost 73 on Highway 31 south to Monument Rock. A Level 3 (GO NOW!) evacuation remains in place for all areas within and adjacent to the Bootleg Fire perimeter, including Yamsay Mountain, Thompson Reservoir, and the Sycan Marsh to the top of Winter Rim. The best way to view the evacuation designation boundaries and details is on the interactive map available at tinyurl.com/bootlegevac 

Closures:  An emergency closure order is in effect for the Bootleg Fire on the Fremont-Winema National Forest to protect public and firefighter safety. All travel or entry into the area is prohibited.  The full closure order and map are available on the website under Alerts and Closures at https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/fremont-winema/alerts-notices    

Red Cross Evacuation Shelters: For information or assistance: 1-800-Red-Cross (www.redcrossblog.org/disaster)   

Smoke:  Wildland fire smoke can adversely impact your health. Be aware of the smoke near you and learn about ways to mitigate smoke impacts. See the air quality near you at https://fire.airnow.gov and learn how to keep smoke out of your home at https://www.epa.gov/smoke-ready-toolbox-wildfires   

Insurance Assistance: For additional information on submitting insurance claims after losing your home or property to a wildfire, please visit https://dfr.oregon.gov/insure/home/storm/Pages/wildfires.aspx or call the state’s team of consumer advocates at 888-877-4894 (toll-free).   

Bootleg Fire Public Information 
Email2021.bootleg@firenet.gov
Public Line:(541)482-1331
Inciweb: inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/7609/ 
Facebook: www.facebook.com/BootlegFireInfo 
Twitter: twitter.com/BootlegFireInfo

Klamath County will be under an air quality advisory until at least Friday morning, the state’s Department of Environmental Quality announced Wednesday

Smoke from wildfires burning in Northern California and in Oregon is degrading air quality across Southern Oregon, the department said in a release.  On Wednesday morning an air quality monitor at Klamath Falls’ Peterson Elementary School measured an air quality index reading of 157 — which is considered unhealthy.

Up-to-date local air quality readings and maps can be found online on the department’s website. Health officials advise citizens to refill inhalers and air out buildings when smoke levels return to more healthy levels.  Most face masks don’t protect from the harmful particles in smoke, the department said.

Only N95 or P100 respirators that are fitted to the user and approved by the National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health. 

Dutch Bros Coffee donated more than $15,000 to the American Red Cross’ Southwest Oregon chapter for the organization’s support to evacuees from the Bootleg Fire.

On July 31, Dutch Bros locations in Klamath Falls gathered $1 from every drink sold for the Red Cross, raising more than $5,400. An additional $10,000 was donated by the Dutch Bros Foundation, the company’s charitable arm.

Dutch Bros said in a statement that the Red Cross prevents and alleviates human suffering in the face of emergencies by mobilizing the power of volunteers and the generosity of donors — particularly calling out the shelter, food, and supplies provided by the Red Cross for people impacted by the Bootleg Fire.

Hundreds of dilapidated, uninhabitable homes are strewn through several Klamath Falls neighborhoods, county officials say.

At the same time, the local housing market is lacking in both rental property and affordable, on-the-market houses. A potential new program being considered by both the Klamath County commissioners and the Klamath Falls city council would seek to make dents in both of those housing issues by using federal funds to encourage investment in rehabilitating older homes that are not currently inhabited.

The proposed program, called the Klamath Falls Affordable Housing Initiative Plan on draft documents, would essentially make government grants available to property owners looking to rehab their uninhabitable homes. The South Central Oregon Economic Development District — known also as SCOEDD — would manage the program.

DeGroot chairs SCOEDD’s board of directors, along with Lake County Commissioner Mark Albertson.

If you’ve gone north out of Klamath Falls on Highway 97 in the last month, you might have seen the construction project on the southeast side of Upper Klamath Lake.

The Oregon Department of Transportation is partnering with the Klamath tribes to restore 40 acres of former wetland into fresh habitat suitable for native flora and fauna including two species of endangered suckerfish endemic to Klamath Lake. ODOT is involved with the project as part of their wetland restoration offset program.

According to an article on ODOT Transportation Insights, they manage several “wetland mitigation banks” around the state to compensate for projects of theirs that disturb wetland areas. Soil removal allows for more habitat diversity, creating ecological niches for different species. Root wads and other native plant species will be added to the area to further enhance the habitat.

A Gilchrist man died Monday afternoon when his vehicle crashed head-on into a semi. Jerry Edward Anderson, 61, was pronounced dead at the scene.

The crash took place on Highway 58 near its intersection with Highway 97. According to Oregon State Police, Anderson was driving west about 3 p.m. Monday when he “failed to negotiate a corner.” His Nissa Sentra crossed over oncoming lanes and hit a guardrail, then collided head-on with a semi driven by Thomas Michael Jennings, 45, of Eugene.  Jennings was uninjured. OSP was assisted by Oakridge Fire Department.

Around the state of Oregon

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown supports moving forward with a plan that would expand Interstate 5 through Portland’s Rose Quarter while spending more than $1 billion to build a “cap” over the freeway to rebuild a community wrecked by its initial construction.

Speaking before a meeting of stakeholder and advisory groups convened by the Oregon Department of Transportation, Brown also confirmed Tuesday she hoped to relocate a middle school perched on the highway’s fringes. Oregon Public Broadcasting reports such a move could grant additional space for the expansion process, and address concerns about poor air quality impacting students.

The plan Brown landed on, known as “hybrid 3” is an attempt to address the many competing priorities different groups have brought to the controversial highway expansion project. Business leaders and state transportation officials have said for years that an existing bottleneck on the highway creates harmful delays and poses a risk for crashes that repeatedly snarl traffic.

Members of Portland’s Black community have forcefully argued any project needs to include a strong highway cap that will allow for development in a historically African American neighborhood destroyed by the construction of I-5. And climate and transportation activists say the entire premise of increasing highway throughput is wrongheaded at a time when the impacts of climate change are being felt more acutely than ever.

As COVID-19 cases continue to climb in Oregon, some counties — most where less than half of the area’s adult population is vaccinated — are experiencing their highest hospitalization numbers during the pandemic.

Statewide coronavirus-related hospitalizations increased to 379 people on Tuesday, 39 more than the previous day. Some hospital officials, including those at Oregon Health & Science University, said they are postponing some surgeries that are not urgent.

In addition, Oregon health officials reported 1,575 newly confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, the most since early January.

Governor Kate Brown announced Wednesday that she’s directed the Oregon Health Authority to enact a new rule requiring healthcare workers to get tested regularly if they do not provide proof of vaccination. The proposed rule would require that staff in healthcare settings undergo weekly coronavirus testing, which can be waived with proof of vaccination.

Brown’s office said that the rule will be issued later this week, but the requirement will not go into effect until September 30 — giving employers time to adjust to the policy and giving “currently unvaccinated healthcare workers time to become fully vaccinated.” Brown’s office said that the new rule applies broadly to staff in healthcare settings, whether their contact with patients or infectious materials is direct or indirect. California has implemented vaccination and testing requirements for state workers, and Brown’s office said that they are looking at similar measures.

The announcement received immediate support from both the Oregon Association of Hospitals and Health Systems and the Oregon Nurses Association.

New York City will become the first major U.S. city to require proof of Covid vaccination for customers and staff at indoor businesses including entertainment venues.

In the Rogue Valley, changes are also coming in all directions after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released its most recent mask guidance. Starting on Wednesday August 4, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival will require all audience members to wear masks during performances in the Allen Elizabethan Theatre. Though social distancing is not being enforced, the Box Office is also going to assign seats to guests. This is the same day local singer Phoenix and his band Four Directions appear as part of OSF’s summer concert series.

Here in Klamath County, it’s all systems go for the Klamath County Fair that runs now through Sunday.

Oregon OHSA is adopting two new temporary rules regarding wildfire smoke and heat.

The wildfire smoke rule requires an employer to take action to protect workers who are outside when the Air Quality Index goes above 101.  The heat rule applies to employer-provided housing.   If the indoor temperature is above 78 degrees, then the employer needs to provide areas where employees can cool off.

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