Month: August 2016

More than 500 firefighters are battling a more than 6,500-acre wildfire in Eastern Oregon that broke out Sunday afternoon. The 525 firefighters on the lines of the Rail Fire 10 miles southwest of Unity report significant progress due to a break in the weather on Wednesday, but the fire is only 5 percent contained at

The Bend City Council made significant headway Wednesday night toward adopting a climate action plan resolution, but not without a lot of crosswinds of debate – testy at times – about how firm the goals should be and how high a priority to make the issue in a growing city with a lot of needs.

Another cool night helped firefighters hold the lines on the Paulina Fire northeast of La Pine, which held at 80 percent containment Thursday. A Central Oregon Fire Management Service Type III team was planning to transition management back to a local unit by the end of Thursday. Along with Level 1 pre-evacuation notices being lifted

Police departments across the nation are seeing challenges filling positions within their departments, and it’s the same here in Bend. Bend police have four unfilled positions and eight people currently training to become police officers. “Nationally, absolutely there is a police shortage,” police Lt. Clint Burleigh said Tuesday. “I think anybody in the state of

A wind-whipped brushfire broke out late Monday afternoon east of Sisters, racing across more than eight acres while prompting road closures and evacuations of some homes in the area, with numerous others under pre-evacuation notice for three hours. Crews and engines working through the night firmed up fire lines and continued mop-up work Tuesday, the

The Bybee Creek Fire west of Crater Lake has grown to 720 acres and is 12 percent contained, officials said, as a Level 1 (“Be Ready”) evacuation notice was issued for the Rim Village and National Park Headquarters. The Level 1 notice informs residents and visitors to “be ready” for a potential evacuation of Rim

Two cadets from the Civil Air Patrol’s High Desert Squadron in Bend just returned from the Desert Eagle Flight Academy in Ephrata, Washington. They attended the twelve-day academy where they both achieved their first solo flight. They graduated Sunday, July 31st. Cadet TSgt. Phillips took powered flight lessons and Cadet MSgt. Hunter Cook took glider

In the heat of summer, the threat of wildfire is on the minds of many Oregonians. On Tuesday the Oregon Department of Forestry celebrated milestone in Oregon’s fire prevention and preparedness program by recognizing over 100 communities that have taken steps to become Firewise! Squaw Creek Canyon Estates located just outside of Sisters is now

Don’t know what to do with that old paint, brake fluid, or garden fertilizer in your garage? Residents in Sisters, La Pine and Redmond will have the chance to dispose of household hazardous waste safely at no cost. Deschutes County Solid Waste will be holding Neighborhood Household Hazardous Waste Collection events at the following locations:

In one of the farthest reaches of northeastern Oregon is a quaint Western town called Pendleton. I traveled there with reporter Dani Fried and photojournalist Steve Kauffman last Wednesday as part of KTVZ’s Road Trip adventures this summer. Pendleton is home to quite a famous event: the Pendleton Round-Up. It has been a major highlight

The Bend Fire Department has been given a little extra breathing room, so to speak. With the help of a grant, Bend firefighters are now using brand new air tanks called self-contained breathing apparatus or SCBA. For many firefighters, this device could make a difference between life and death. “It’s a supply of air that

Last Friday, firefighters from the Oregon Department of Forestry, US Forest Service, Sisters Camp Sherman Fire District and Cloverdale Fire District responded to a fire located off of Wilt Road north of Sisters on land that is owned by Deschutes County. Prior fuel treatments in the area allowed for a successful coordinated multi-agency initial attack

With what it termed “reasonable regulations” in place, Deschutes County commissioners on Monday lifted the prohibition on marijuana-related business in rural areas of the county. Here’s the rest of the news release from the county announcing the move. NewsChannel 21’s Pedro Quintana was at the meeting and will have a report tonight at 5 and

The search for a Portland man missing in the Mt. Jefferson Wilderness area continued Monday, without success, and will resume Tuesday morning, officials said. The Marion County Sheriff’s Office and its Search and Rescue partners said they had contact with numerous hikers on the Pacific Coast Trail but have still not been able to locate

Due to hot and dry weather conditions and the low amount of live fuel moisture, Bend Fire & Rescue and other area fire departments have increased the level of fire danger to EXTREME. As if to underscore the danger, the National Weather Service has issued another red flag warning for the region, for 11 a.m.

Free passes for Deschutes County Fair concerts are now available every day at all Central Oregon McDonald’s restaurants. No purchase is necessary. Passes were previously only available on Wednesdays, but are now available every day during regular business hours while supplies last. You can get free concert passes by visiting a McDonald’s restaurant in Bend,

A human-caused wildfire that broke out Saturday morning near the Three Rivers subdivision south of Lake Billy Chinook is 80 percent contained, officials said Monday. The fire burned about 20 acres and prompted a quick call-out of crews on the ground and in the air who halted its spread. Jefferson County reported the Rifle Range

A Boise woman was killed Sunday in a head-on crash of two SUVs on Highway 97 about 10 miles south of Chemult, Oregon State Police reported. Troopers and emergency personnel responded to the reported crash around 10:30 a.m. near milepost 214, just south of the Highway 97 junction with Highway 138E (the Diamond Lake Highway)

A Portland man called for help Saturday after hiking to the summit of South Sister and getting lost on the descent, prompting a complex, all-night rescue effort — the second such incident at the 10,358-foot peak in four days, but a much trickier, longer operation — nearly 24 hours. Here’s the full narrative released Sunday

Firefighters had a productive night battling the Weigh Station Fire near Meacham in Eastern Oregon, after Interstate 84 reopened and mapping reduced the fire’s size to 500 acres, with 25 percent containment achieved. A new Eastern Oregon blaze, the Rail Fire, had grown by Monday to 700 acres, burning in lodgepole Pine about 10 miles