Crook County requests state drought declaration
The Crook County Emergency Management Office forwarded a drought declaration request to Gov. Kate Brown on Thursday, after county commissioners adopted a “local disaster” declaration Wednesday evening.
The Crook County Court passed Order 2015-15: IN THE MATTER OF: DECLARATION OF LOCAL DISASTER AND REQUEST TO DECLARE A STATE DROUGHT EMERGENCY FOR CROOK COUNTY, OREGON.
Commissioners approved a letter that asking Gov. Kate Brown to follow suit with her own drought declaration and a state of emergency.
The governor’s order will pave the way for Oregon’s departments of Agriculture, Water Resources, Oregon Emergency Management and other agencies to coordinate and provide state resources to assist Crook County, said county Emergency Manager Michael Ryan.
Current snow measurements Thursday at the Ochoco Meadows Sno-Tel site, located at 5,430 feet elevation, were zero inches of snow, with a snow water equivalent of 0.0 inches.
Ochoco Reservoir was at 73 percent and Prineville Reservoir at 78 percent while the lakes are filling, but with no remaining snowpack, draw down on the reservoirs will begin sooner, Ryan said.
With a warmer spring weather pattern expected, the potential for impact to agriculture in the mid to late summer remains, he added.
With rangeland and forests drying out sooner, forest agencies are expecting a dry summer, with the potential for wildfires similar to 2014.
