The Morrow County Board of Commissioners has formally declared a drought in the county and formally asked Gov. Kate Brown for state support.
A letter from commissioners to Brown, dated April 28, describes conditions this year as âsevereâ and projected to continue.
âThere is a potential for Morrow County agricultural and livestock, natural resources, recreational and tourism, and related economies to experience widespread and severe damage resulting in extreme weather conditions in the County,â the letter stated. âThe County is experiencing negative impacts in agriculture.â
It asks that Brown issue an executive order declaring a drought in Morrow County and that state agencies, including the Oregon Water Department, operate within their authority to assist the county in mitigating damage from the drought.
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PENDLETON â The Umatilla County Board of Commissioners in a Tuesday, April 20, meeting moved unanimously to declare a drought disaster in the county and are asking that Gov. Kate Brown and U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack follow suit.
If the state declares a drought, local farmers could receive relief in the form of state or federal grants, officials say.
âWe have a very large area in Umatilla County that is in the severe drought stage right now, with another equally large area in extreme drought,â Umatilla County Commissioner Dan Dorran said in the meeting, adding that âthe rest of the county is either in abnormally dry or moderate drought.â
PENDLETON â Umatilla County residents could see the Thorn Hollow Bridge on the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation replaced much sooner than previously anticipated, as county and state officials have made new plans to immediately begin demolishing and rebuilding the flood-damaged roadway.
Officials in a press conference on Wednesday, March 10, said that, if all goes well, whatâs left of the bridge could be demolished as early as this year, with hopes that construction will follow soon thereafter.
The bridge, which was damaged and rendered impassable in the aftermath of the Umatilla River flooding in February 2020, sits nearest to the town of Adams. The bridge is part of local school bus routes and is a main access point to Highway 11. The closest alternate river crossing sits about 5 miles west, officials said in the press conference.