Month: August 2015

Oregon Department of Transportation maintenance crews are working to replace damaged infrastructure and remove burned hazard trees along two state highways that have been impacted by wildfires and remain closed to traffic. The Dooley Mountain Highway, OR 245 south of Baker City has been closed for about a week due to the Cornet and Windy

Beginning Friday , the last developed boat ramp on Prineville Reservoir will be closed for the year to trailered boat launching due to low water levels, officials said Tuesday. The Oregon Parks Department said the ramp is unsafe to launch boats because the water level has receded to the end of the ramp. The low

Starting Tuesday, Bend’s Southeast Reed Market Road will be open to two-way traffic between the new American Lane bridge and Third Street, city officials said Monday. From the new American Lane bridge to the 15 th Street roundabout, traffic will continue eastbound only. The rest of the Reed Market Road project is expected to continue

The U.S. Geological Survey found insecticides known as neonicotinoids in a little more than half of both urban and agricultural streams sampled across the nation and Puerto Rico, according to a study by the agency published Tuesday in Environmental Chemistry. This study, conducted from 2011 to 2014, represents the first national-scale investigation of the environmental

Some firefighters were released Monday from the nearly 62,000-acre County Line 2 Fire as Kah-Nee-Ta Resort reopened and the threat eased to populated areas of the Warm Springs Indian Reservation. The containment estimate grew to 31 percent, with much more firefighting work left to do. “We’re not out of the woods yet,” Doug Epperson, public

With fires near Warm Springs and John Day blazing, many people have been wondering how they can help those communities and those hit hardest by the devastating fires — while many are stepping up to do just that. One example: Members of the Prineville, Redmond, Bend and Madras communities are now accepting donations on behalf

The Canyon Creek Complex Fire that destroyed at least 26 homes near Canyon City and damaged over 100 other structures late Friday had grown to 40,000 acres by Monday and was spreading to the south, threatening the small community of Seneca, officials said. Officials said the fire was growing toward the south and still at

Deschutes County District Attorney John Hummel said Monday his office is reviewing a weekend incident to determine if charges are filed against a citizen who chased and held a Redmond DUII crash suspect at gunpoint until police arrived. “Generally, one is not allowed to pull a gun on another person unless there’s a certain provision

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown issued an executive order late Monday afternoon declaring a state of emergency to assure the delivery of aircraft fuel directed for use in firefighting activities. “The governor finds it necessary to suspend the hours of service rules as they apply to drivers operating trucks hauling aircraft fuel directed to airports and/or

After years of planning, Crater Lake Zipline is open for business, offering Oregon’s longest tree canopy zipline, and the only tree-to-tree canopy zipline on U.S. Forest Service land, officials said Monday. The 2 1/2 to 3-hour tour includes nine ziplines and two sky bridges suspended up to 90 feet in the trees in the Fremont-Winema

A police officer spotted and arrested a female fugitive in the front yard of a northwest Redmond-area home late Saturday afternoon. That led to an 8 -hour police tactical operation for a wanted man believed to be inside the home – but who, as it turned out, was not there, officers said. Around 4:45 p.m.,

The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office will take part in an Oregon safety belt overtime campaign Aug. 24-Sept. 6 and a DUII traffic safety campaign during Labor Day weekend. The Oregon Safety Belt Overtime Campaign is a statewide selective traffic enforcement program that seeks to reduce the number of motor vehicle-related deaths and injuries by increasing

With dry conditions expected to continue in Central Oregon and fire suppression resources limited due to numerous wildfires in Oregon and Washington, the Prineville District Bureau of Land Management, the Deschutes National Forest and the Ochoco National Forest, including the Crooked River National Grassland, are implementing a total campfire restriction. Effective 12:01 a.m. August 18,

The north entrance to Crater Lake National Park will close temporarily beginning at 10 p.m. Sunday to allow for fire line preparation and burnout operations related to the Crescent Fire. The precautionary closure is being put into effect to facilitate fire operations and provide for the safety of firefighters and park visitors. The Pacific Crest

A 35-year-old Winnebago RV was destroyed by a fire in northeast Bend Saturday night, but crews kept the blaze from doing more than scorching the exterior of a commercial building it was parked next to, an official said. Firefighters were dispatched around 8:30 p.m. to a report of black smoke seen near Boyd Acres Road

Smoke from wildfires hindered a statewide Oregon Civil Air Patrol search and rescue exercise on Saturday . During a simulated search and rescue mission, an Oregon Civil Air Patrol Aircraft was forced to return to base in Bend as smoke impeded the air search efforts in their assigned area. The wildfire was burning near Warm

Haggen, the West Coast regional grocer that recently acquired numerous Albertsons and Safeway stores, announced Friday that it will close or sell over two-dozen of those stores “in order to continue to improve its business and strengthen its competitive position.” The locations are in California, Arizona, Nevada, Oregon and Washington. Most of the stores being

With wildfires rapidly growing in number and size across Oregon and the Northwest, the Oregon state forester issued a renewed plea Saturday for residents to be extremely careful and cut the risk of any new human-caused blazes. “Wildfire activity in Oregon has escalated significantly since Friday, particularly in Eastern Oregon,” said Doug Decker, Oregon State

Due to NFL (49ers) pre-season football airing on NBC Saturday evening, NewsChannel 21 at Six will air on Fox Central Oregon (KFXO) instead of KTVZ. Please join us on Fox Central Oregon as we have the latest news from the scene of the destructive Warm Springs and Grant County wildfires, as well as other weekend

The 2015 Bend Brewfest features 71 different breweries. Two of those are “meaderies” that will be on Cider Row at Les Schwab Amphitheater. “Mead is actually the oldest known fermented substance on the planet,” the vice president of sales at Stung Fermented, Jack Newkirk, said Friday. Mead gives festival attendees an alternative to beer. “There