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Tuesday, April 8, 2025
Klamath Basin Weather
Today
Partly sunny, with a high near 60. Light south southwest wind 8 to 13 mph in the afternoon. Overnight, partly cloudy with a low around 35 degrees.
See Road Camera Views around the Klamath Basin:
Lake of the Woods
Doak Mtn.
Hiway 97 at Chemult
Hiway 140 at Bly
Hiway 97 at GreenSprings Dr.
Hiway 97 at LaPine
Today’s Klamath Falls Headlines
Search and rescue teams are looking for a 29-year-old Klamath Falls woman reported missing out of Harney County last week. The Harney County Sheriff’s Office says Kaylee Birt was last seen leaving The Fields Station in Fields, Oregon around 8:30 a.m. on Friday.
Reports indicate Kaylee was on a trip from Klamath Falls headed to Iowa, driving a golden colored 2008 Chevy Malibu with Oregon whale license plate #GW21073.
According to an update from the sheriff’s office, her car was found in a remote part of Harney County on Sunday, but she has not yet been located.
Search efforts are resuming Monday morning with the assistance of Lake County Search & Rescue, local ranchers on horseback, side-by-sides and four wheelers, as well as Oregon State Police and Grant County Search & Rescue with K-9s.
Kaylee is described as 5 feet 2 inches and 120 pounds with brown hair and hazel eyes. She has green and brown glasses and was last seen wearing a long-sleeve green shirt and white sweatpants with a Christmas tree design on them. She has a tattoo on her right wrist of a lighthouse and another one on her foot of a Christian fish and cross with Romans 8:31 Bible verse.
Anyone who has seen Kaylee or knows where she might be is asked to call 911 or contact the Harney County Sheriff’s Office at 541-573-6156.
The City of Klamath Falls Parks Division will begin work on replacing the irrigation line in the tennis court and old tennis court parking lots at Moore Park this week.
To accommodate construction activities, the park loop road will be closed to vehicle traffic. Dump trucks will be hauling materials between the shop area and the parking lot, utilizing the one-way portion of the loop road for return trips.
Pedestrians are encouraged to use caution while walking in the area and to be aware of construction vehicles in operation. A map highlighting the affected area is included with this release for reference. The City appreciates the public’s patience and cooperation as we work to improve the park’s infrastructure.
For questions or additional information, please contact the City of Klamath Falls Parks Division at 541-883-5351.
A rural food pantry supporting hundreds of families in Klamath County is in need of a larger facility, asking for the generosity and support of the surrounding communities and neighbors.
Run by 12 volunteers in an 800-square foot building, the Sprague River Bridge Connection serves families across each of the valley’s communities — Bly, Beatty, Bonanza and Sprague River — as many as 200 households per month.
To meet the needs of the people it serves, the Bridge Connection is fundraising to build a brand new facility that will expand their operation to 1,800-square feet and would allow for additional volunteers on site to lend helping hands. Fundraising efforts for the new building have been underway for a little more than a year, gathering an estimated total of $27,000 so far.
The financial sustainability for Sprague River Bridge Connection is largely self- and community-reliant. To pay for utilities, the Bridge Connection holds a weekly bake sale with all baked goods made by the volunteer team.
“Team Oregon Build” Honored
The National Association of Workforce Development Professionals (NAWDP) recently announced that “Team Oregon Build” has been named the 2025 Workforce Program of the Year.
Team Oregon Build will be recognized during an awards ceremony at NAWDP’s 41st annual conference, May 5-7 in Virginia Beach, Va.
Klamath Community College’s Apprenticeship Center supports local high schools through Team Oregon Build by providing space and expertise in building small cottages for displaced people.
KCC’s Mark Griffith, apprenticeship center director, who sits on the Team Build Oregon oversight committee, said, “We assist our high school partners here. They are really the recipients of the construction materials so their students build these homes either at the high school or on our campus.”
Four such homes are nearing completion at KCC and will be shipped to Chiloquin for families displaced by last summer’s wildfires.Team Oregon Build is a governor’s initiative to grow temporary housing.
The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Klamath Tribes entered the beginning stages of starting a new run of spring chinook salmon.
Those hatchery fish were the very beginning of what could be the first run of spring chinook to survive in the upper Klamath Basin since the early 1900s. The country’s largest dam removal project took four dams off the Klamath River in Southern Oregon and Northern California over the past two years.
A free-flowing river has reemerged where Copco 1 and 2, Iron Gate and J.C. Boyle dams used to be. For Indigenous tribes, including the Klamath, Shasta, Karuk, Hoopa Valley and Yurok, the project was a huge victory.
Painful water conflicts have dragged on for decades in the Klamath Basin, with farmers, fish and tribes all suffering. Now four dams are out, bringing renewed hope for salmon restoration. But on the Klamath, it’s going to take a lot more to piece the Basin together again.
Two Klamath River dams have not been removed in Southern Oregon, so tribes see challenges for returning fish, which may have been blocked last fall by the first of two dams that still remain. That could bring a new dam removal fight — focused on the Keno and Link River dams.
With Link River Dam crucial to the Klamath Project irrigation system that delivers water to farms in the upper basin, more conflicts between tribes and farmers could be in store. But for now, many are focused on working together.
As more budgetary cuts are being made by the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency, local entities and private citizens have stepped up to ensure the Klamath Basin Senior Citizens’ Center can operate as normal.
It was in January when senior center leadership were notified that their budget had been cut by $70,000, leaving only $48,000 left for its in-house lunch program – the congregate meal program. Funded through a combination of federal dollars, state funds and local government contributions, in Oregon, the Oregon Department of Human Services works with 16 Area Agencies on Aging (AAA) to administer funding for senior centers and other services mandated by the Older Americans Act.
Since 1970, the Klamath Basin Senior Citizens’ Center congregate meals are a hot lunch and salad bar served 5 days a week at no cost for those 60 years old and over which feeds more than 150 persons each service not including the meals the center provides via the Meals-on-Wheels program.
For many seniors, the congregate meals are not only an affordable lunch option, but functions as a unifying social activity, such as the case of a pair of friends, Bertha Montelongo and Louise Clow, who said they come every time that lunch is served and have been as far back as 2008.
HVAC Training Coming to KCC
Klamath Community College’s Apprenticeship Center was recently awarded a $338,395 Energy Efficiency Training Grant from the Oregon Department of Energy (ODOE) to expand the growth of the college’s Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) program.
KCC’s newly established HVAC technician training program has been on campus for a little over a year. This two-year grant will cover tuition and other costs to help students incur minimal debt, and provides for an additional instructor to assist in the growth of the program.
The goal of the program is for 30 students to receive instruction, hands-on skills training, and earn industry-recognized certifications in preparation for employment and entry into a registered apprenticeship in the industry. Through the ODOE grant, students will also gain knowledge about home energy efficiency resources and state incentives for consumers.
Job counseling and placement services through the KCC Career Services Center will be provided for the students, as well as industry-specific tools and personal protection equipment to use in course labs and on the job.
Spring Open Burn Season Continues thru April 13th
Open burning within the Air Quality Zone is allowed from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. starting Saturday, March 29, and ending Sunday, April 13. Klamath County Fire District 1 (KCFD1) requires that no burn pile be larger that 4-feet across or in height and that burners have at least 5 feet of clearance from the base of the fire. Plastics and other petroleum products are strictly prohibited, as are painted and treated woods. Only yard waste may be burned.
Residents and communities that are not within the Air Quality Zone must check with the local fire district for restrictions. Klamath Falls city residents should contact city administration for additional restrictions as well. For daily guidelines, call 541-882-2836.
If you’re working on getting a green thumb this spring, Oregon State University’s Klamath County Extension Center can help.
On certain days throughout the week, starting today, you can stop by the extension center on Washburn Way to meet with members from the Klamath County Master of Gardeners Association. They’ll be holding clinics where you can actually bring in your plants, a soil sample, and your questions to get advice from the pros.
The clinics run through September. For more information, you can visit their website .
This week’s pet is a kitty named ” Thor ” at Klamath Animal Shelter
Thor is a male Maine Coon mix, around 10 months old, is a brown, black and white tabby, with yellow green eyes. 
If you are interested in adopting Thor the shelter is located at 4240 Washburn Way, Monday through Friday from 12:00 – 4:00, pet meet and greets are by appointment, you can reach the shelter at 541-884-PETS (541-884-7387)Around the State of Oregon
Taxes are due in eight days, but if you still haven’t filed your 2024 returns, the state of Oregon is sharing some options to submit them for free The Oregon Department of Revenue is encouraging taxpayers to submit their returns as soon as possible.
The Department also says electronically filing (e-filing) your taxes and requesting a refund through direct deposit is a quicker way to get your return. Anyone looking to track their return in Oregon can use the Department’s Where’s My Refund? tool to check Taxpayers can file their federal return directly with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) using their Direct File software, and file their state return using Direct File Oregon. Both programs are free. Other services offering free tax preparation assistance can be found on the Revenue website.
The Klamath National Forest reports April results above average in a snow survey that reflects state water availability.
Measurements from snow surveys forecast how much water will be available statewide for the volume of stream flow, agriculture, power generation and recreation. The national park says early April is the seasonal peak for measuring snowpack. Klamath National Forest sits at 114% of average.
The Oregon House of Representatives unanimously passed a bill late last week to change the eviction process of squatters by homeowners.
House Bill 3522 allows the removal of squatters using the standard eviction process, known in Oregon as Forcible Entry and Detainer (FED), without any proof of forced entry or an existing landlord-tenant relationship. If the bill passes, a lease doesn’t need to be in place for homeowners to follow the standard eviction process.
Without HB 3522, state law requires property owners to take civil legal action against the squatter in a process known as ejectment, which chief co-sponsor Rep. Hai Pham said “costs individual homeowners thousands of dollars in costs and often takes months to process.” The bill is now moving to the Senate for consideration.
The Bureau of Land Management is re-opening the Rogue River National Recreation Trail after crews created a path around a large landslide.
Wildland firefighters from BLM’s Veteran Crew 10, along with BLM recreation staff, were able to clear the landslide and re-route the trail around a large boulder. The crews also removed several downed trees and addressed other issues along the first few miles of the trail. The trail is rated as difficult due to the remote nature of the trail, tall cliffs, the potential for downed trees, landslides and high water in creeks.
Hikers may still encounter smaller landslides, unstable footing, erosion of trail tread, and other storm-related impacts along the trail. If you find damage on BLM lands, please report it to the Medford District Office at 541-618-2200.
As floodwaters continue to impact Harney County, the Oregon Department of Emergency Management (OEM), in coordination with Oregon Health Authority (OHA), Oregon Department of Human Services (ODHS-OREM) state and local health agencies, urge residents to be aware of both visible and hidden health risks.
While property damage is often clear, the toll on physical and mental health may be less obvious—but no less urgent. State and local health agencies have been deployed to Harney County assistance includes: Providing crisis hotlines and emotional support services, monitoring and supporting health clinics with medical volunteers.
City water is being tested regularly and remains safe for drinking, cooking and bathing. However, private well water that has been inundated by floodwaters may not be safe to drink. In addition, Bottled water is being provided by the Oregon Department of Human Services, Oregon Food Bank, and the American Red Cross.
Oregon’s list of regulated hazardous substances is getting its first update in nearly two decades with the addition of six “forever chemicals” known to harm human health.
The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality on Tuesday announced it would add six perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, to the state’s list of more than 800 regulated contaminants and begin creating regulations to limit Oregonians’ exposure to them.
The Environmental Quality Commission is expected to vote on adding the chemicals to the state’s list and adopting new regulations on or after May 21.
PFAS are human-made chemical chains used in products such as flame retardants, nonstick cookware and waterproof clothing that do not break down or go away naturally but instead have for decades leached into rivers and streams and contaminated soil, water and even air.
They are thought to now be in the blood of everyone in the U.S., according to research and testing from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and can lead to increased risks for cancers, heart damage, high cholesterol and birth defects, among other adverse health effects.
Oregon voters would be asked to reconsider vote-by-mail under a bill in the Legislature. If voters approved it, voting would have to be in-person with state issued photo identification.
Voters could request a ballot in the mail 21 days in advance for each election, with photo identification. Postage would no longer be paid by the state. More than nine-thousand comments were received online. 81 percent of the comments opposed the bill and nine percent were in support.
Nearly 1.2 million Oregonians have already filed their state personal income tax returns this year.
But with just two weeks before taxes are due, April 15, more than 1 million Oregonians have yet to submit their tax year 2024 returns. E-filing is the fastest way for taxpayers to get their tax refund.
On average, taxpayers who e-file their returns and request their refund via direct deposit receive their refund sooner than those who file paper returns and request paper refund checks.
Taxpayers should file just once. Sending a paper return through the mail after e-filing will a delay a refund. Revenue provides several options for taxpayers to e-file their returns for free. Oregon Free Fillable Forms performs basic calculations and is ideal for taxpayers who don’t need help preparing their returns and want the convenience of filing electronically.
The IRS offers a similar option for filing federal taxes electronically. New this year, taxpayers can file their federal return directly with the IRS using IRS Direct File and their Oregon return directly with the state through Direct File Oregon for free.
Videos are available to show how to use IRS Direct File and Direct File Oregon. Information about all available free tax preparation software options is available on the Revenue website, along with a list of organizations providing free assistance.
Klamath National Forest is planning prescribed fire operations to continue throughout the spring as weather conditions allow.
These prescribed fires help reduce overgrown vegetation and protect local communities, infrastructure and natural resources from wildfires. Prescribed fire areas may close to the public for several days for public safety. Watch for warning signs along roads near prescribed fire areas before and during burns. Residents may experience smoke during the prescribed burns.
Go to fire.airnow.gov for more about air quality. When driving, slow down and turn on headlights when you seeing smoke on the road. Stay informed about the scheduled prescribed fires through the forest website, social media channels, and InciWeb, the interagency incident information system.
It’s molting season for elephant seals, and Oregon beachgoers are being urged to “share the shore.”
Signs have recently gone up in Seaside advising residents to remain at least 100 yards away from the seals after a young elephant seal was found sunbathing there yesterday. The molting process requires elephant seals to rest on land for multiple weeks while they shed their old coats and grow new ones. Elephant seals can be extra irritable during the molting process.
Oregon’s aging bridge infrastructure faces increasing strain, with a recent state report highlighting a growing number of structures in need of critical repair or replacement.
Oregon Department of Transportations (ODOT) recent report highlights the statewide issue of aging bridges and funding shortfalls for replacements, indicating that at the current pace, it would take 900 years to replace all state-owned bridges. This compounds concerns for the Medford Viaduct, which was built in 1962, and like many Oregon bridges, requires attention to ensure its resilience in the event of a major earthquake.
ODOT is actively working to maintain bridges, as Ray Bottenberg, state bridge engineer for ODOT, stated, to prevent them from slipping into “poor” condition. However, the age of the viaduct, and its importance as a key transportation link, necessitates a long-term strategy that includes seismic retrofitting.
Two bills are coming to the Oregon Legislature that can help protect residents before and after a wildfire happens.
Thats according to State Representative Pam Marsh who is one of the sponsors for House Bill 3666 and House Bill 3917. HB 3666 would institute a safety certification that the Public Utility Commission could grant to utilities, like Pacific Power, after reviewing the utility’s wildfire mitigation plan.
HB 3917 would set up a fund available for fire survivors, but how much coverage the fund would provide and who pays for the fund is still being discussed. Marsh says right now, utility’s wildfire mitigation plans are open-ended and after a wildfire happens, many people without insurance are left with little to no options. Some trial lawyers say these bills are a way to limit wildfire liability for utilities.
Marsh refutes this, saying neither bill is intended to provide any kind of immunity.
FBI launching ‘surge’ in Oregon, other states to investigate unsolved crimes in Native American communities
The FBI, now headed by Cash Patel says information they’ve gathered has seen a surge in unsolved crimes in Native American communities, including Oregon.
The FBI is sending extra agents, analysts and other personnel to field offices in Oregon and nine other states over the next six months to help investigate unsolved violent crimes in Indian Country, marking a continuation of efforts by the federal government to address high rates of violence affecting Native American communities.
The U.S. Justice Department announced Tuesday that the temporary duty assignments began immediately and will rotate every 90 days in field offices that include Portland, Seattle, Salt Lake City, Albuquerque, Phoenix, Denver, Detroit, Minneapolis, Oklahoma City, and Jackson, Mississippi.
The FBI will be working with the Bureau of Indian Affairs Missing and Murdered Unit, tribal authorities and federal prosecutors in each of the states.
In 2023, the Justice Department established its Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons outreach program, dispatching more attorneys and coordinators to certain regions to help with unsolved cases. In past years, the FBI’s Operation Not Forgotten had deployed about 50 people. This year, it’s 60. (SOURCE)
The Oregon Department of Human Services has launched the Brain Injury Program.
It’s intended to help people with brain injuries, and their families, navigate access to services and support. Brain injuries are increasing. In 2023, there were over 38-thousand brain injuries in Oregon with 17-hundred fatalities. The Brain Injury Program can help with advocacy, options counseling, resource navigation, and service coordination.
The State of Oregon is releasing free, permit-ready plans for building a deck.
It’s part of the Permit-Ready Plans Program. Later this year, plans will be released for pole buildings, detached garages, patio covers, and carports.
The Oregon Building Codes Division will start developing plans for smaller detached dwelling units by the end of 2025. The plans are available online at the Permit-Ready Plans Program website.
Jackson County is gearing up to welcome visitors to Emigrant Lake this summer, with the lake nearly replenished after several years of low water levels.
Steve Lambert, the Roads and Parks Director for Jackson County, shared exciting updates about the upcoming season, which promises a mix of outdoor recreation, new concessions, and renovated park facilities. The resurgence of the lake will also help the popular non-motorized watercraft rentals, including paddleboards and kayaks, which had struggled during the low-water years.
The county is actively seeking new business partners to provide food, beverage, and non-motorized watercraft rentals, a service that was previously offered when the lake had better water levels. The last concessionaire at Emigrant Lake was successful in offering rentals and lessons for paddleboards, and Lambert is optimistic about finding a new partner to continue this tradition.
In preparation for the influx of visitors, Jackson County has also been working on improving park facilities. New infrastructure, including replacement sidewalks, staircases and a renovated Oak Slope Tent Campground.
Governor Tina Kotek has proclaimed April 2025 to be Oregon Arbor Month throughout the state.
This year’s proclamation recognizes the importance to neighborhoods of urban trees as cities add housing and rapidly densify. The proclamation states that “Trees play an integral role in fostering healthy communities,” adding that urban development and the preservation of trees demands a careful balance.
Oregon Dept. of Forestry Urban and Community Forestry Program Manager Scott Altenhoff said “Replacing those trees will require us to pick up the pace not only of planting but also of ensuring nurseries have the capacity to grow the numbers and types of trees needed that are resilient to climate change and resistant to serious pests and diseases.” He added that it is equally important to grow and diversify the workforce in urban forestry.
Altenhoff said there is growing recognition, as cited in the proclamation, that the benefits of tree canopy have been unevenly distributed in the state. “Many low-income areas and those with large populations of people of color have fewer large shade trees than more affluent neighborhoods. Research has shown that having fewer large shade trees in those lower-canopy neighborhoods is strongly associated with increased deaths from heart disease and poor health outcomes.”
Oregon public schools would have to consider installing a panic alarm system under a bill that unanimously passed the state House.
Alyssa’s Law is named after Alyssa Alhadeff, a student who was killed in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in 2017. Schools that have installed these systems find that about 80 percent of the alerts are for medical purposes.
In 2023, the Oregon Legislature approved two-and-a-half million dollars to help pay for the systems. The bill now moves to the Senate.
Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek’s office has heard from thousands of Oregonians concerned with utility rate increases that have gone up for most by about 50% in the last five years.
Kotek detailed this and her own concerns in a March 20 letter to the three governor-appointed chairs and executive director of the Oregon Public Utility Commission, which is charged with regulating the rates of investor-owned, monopoly electric and gas utilities operating in the state. She also laid out her expectations for the commission in the letter, including honoring the state’s climate commitments while considering requests for rate increases from utilities.
She asked that members provide information by Aug. 1 about their ability going forward to keep electricity and gas services affordable for Oregonians, handle the impacts of new heavy users such as data centers and ensure sound investments are being made in modernizing grid and distribution systems so Oregonians get reliable energy deliveries.
Kotek acknowledged both electric and natural gas utilities have and continue to face increasing insurance costs from the threat of catastrophic wildfires, inflationary pressures and volatile fuel prices. Everyday customers face those challenges, too. NW Natural, the state’s largest private gas utility, turned off gas to 376 Oregonians in 2024 – a 30% increase since 2023.
In the last five years, residential rates for customers of all three utilities have risen by about 50%, and the Oregon’s Public Utility Commission has approved rate hikes requested by the utilities nearly every year.
The long-delayed deadline for REAL ID is weeks away. There’s a chance that full enforcement may get gradually rolled out, but May 7, 2025, is the changeover deadline.
Starting then, state-level ID cards, such as driver’s licenses, won’t be accepted for federal purposes, namely getting through airport security, unless it’s REAL ID-compliant. If you plan to catch a domestic flight on or after May 7, you will be required to use a REAL ID. A little gold or black star in the upper right-hand corner is one of the easiest ways to know you’re holding a REAL ID.
In Oregon, it’s a black star. A REAL ID is an identification card that serves all of the same purposes of a standard drivers’ license or state-issued identification card. A federally-mandated switch to REAL ID for federal purposes, such as flying domestically, was originally signed into law by Congress in 2005.
The purpose is to establish “minimum security standards for license issuance and production,” according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security website. The law, established four years after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, came in response to federal calls for higher security standards in the U.S. Originally, the law mandated the switch to REAL ID by 2008, but it has been pushed back for various reasons due to logistical hurdles and later the COVID-19 pandemic.
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