Folks hit the parks, Deschutes County gets to work amid weirdly warm winter temperatures

Volleyball in the warm sand -- and sweepers hit the streets for early duties

(Update: Adding video, comments from Deschutes County, bike shop, Bend park goers)

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Deschutes County was filled with clean roads, clear skies and busy parks Thursday on a nearly 70-degree and sunny day in the middle of winter.

Kathy Burnett lives in Bend and was walking her dog at Pine Nursery Park, relishing the nice temperatures. 

“So I’d love to see some snow. But man, you can’t beat this weather -- it's like beach weather!” Burnett said. 

Bob Trapnell, a sand volleyball player, said from an environmental standpoint, the weather is concerning. But as a player, he loves it. 

“We do play in 35- and 40-degree weather. So I’ll take this all day,” Trapnell said. 

While the sun is out and there’s no snow in sight, the Deschutes County Road Department is still busy.

Deschutes County Road Department Director Chris Doty said the warm spell gives them a chance to work on other projects like road grading, chip sealing and tree trimming.

“Still doing our job, still spending money,” Doty said. “Just because it's not snowing doesn't mean that we’re saving money. A 900-mile system deserves maintenance all the time.”

It can also bring out the street sweepers earlier than usual.

“Yeah, we're out there, late January, early February, sweeping -- which is almost unheard of,” Doty said. 

And that's a relief to cyclist and Bend Velo owner Eric Power.

“Any time the city sweeps the streets, cyclists like it. Leads to less punctures,” Power said. “We’re all in favor of them doing the maintenance on the streets, no matter what time of year it is.”

But he also can’t help but worry about what this means.

“The pluses of the warm weather are we get to ride bikes, the minuses are it does give you cause for concern for global warming, and what is our new norm for winters like?” Power said. 

But for Bob Trapnell and the other volleyball players, he wants to enjoy it while it’s here.

“Oh I have no complaints. I feel like I’m back at the beach,” Trapnell said with a laugh.