Oregon heat-related state of emergency also prompts lifting of self-serve gas ban

SALEM, Ore. (KTVZ) – Gov. Kate Brown’s state of emergency declaration this week by executive order in 25 Oregon counties due to extreme heat also has brought a return of a temporary lifting of a ban on self-serve gasoline, the Oregon Office of State Fire Marshal confirmed late Wednesday.

“Our understanding is that through the life of the emergency declaration, self-serve is allowed through (Sunday) in the applicable counties,” which include Deschutes, Crook and Jefferson counties, said OSFM spokeswoman Alison Green. She noted that a dozen of the 25 counties “already allow self-service in various forms.”

The agency took a similar step during last summer's extreme heat and also lifted enforcement of the self-serve gas ban in 2020 during the early weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic.