Latest news with #Kotek
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Kotek declares state of emergency in Oregon due to imminent threat of wildfire
Gov. Tina Kotek declared a state of emergency in Oregon on July 16 that will last through the end of the year due to the imminent threat of wildfire. Multiple large wildfires have already exploded this year, largely east of the Cascade Range, including the growing Cram Fire, which roared to more than 60,000 acres by July 16 and is spreading smoke across central Oregon. The Rowena Fire burned 63 homes in The Dalles in June. 'Oregon is already experiencing a devastating wildfire season that will have lasting consequences. The summer is only getting hotter, drier, and more dangerous – we have to be prepared for worsening conditions,' Kotek said in a news release. Oregon's wildfire danger is forecast to remain above normal through summer — remaining high in every part of the state in July, August and September — the first time in recent history that's happened. The declaration directs all state agencies, including the National Guard, to help support efforts to alleviate or respond to wildfire impacts, and support the Oregon Department of Forestry and Oregon State Fire Marshal. 'All Oregonians should follow local instructions and evacuation levels issued by emergency officials, subscribe to emergency alerts on have an evacuation plan, prepare a go-kit, and stay aware of changing conditions,' Kotek said in the news release. Zach Urness has been an outdoors reporter in Oregon for 18 years and is host of the Explore Oregon Podcast. He can be reached at zurness@ or (503) 399-6801. Find him on X at @ZachsORoutdoors and BlueSky at This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Gov Tina Kotek declares state of emergency in Oregon for wildfires
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Oregon wildfire updates: Cram Fire grows to 77,158 acres in central Oregon
(This story has been updated to include additional information) The Cram Fire in Wasco and Jefferson counties reached 77,158 acres as of July 17, remaining the state's largest blaze and growing nearly 13,000 acres since July 16. Widespread level 1, 2 and 3 evacuations for Wasco and Jefferson counties are still in place. An evacuation map for Jefferson County can be found at: An evacuation map for Wasco County can be found at: A Red Cross evacuation shelter is available at Jefferson County Middle School, 1180 SE. Kemper Way in Madras. Large animals can go to the Jefferson County Fairgrounds until July 18. Air quality in Madras has increased to moderate as of July 17, unhealthy for sensitive groups in Prineville and moderate in the Bend and Redmond area. Fire activity the night of July 16 was less than expected due to decreased winds. The fire still continues to challenge personnel on the ground. With a red flag warning for high winds and low humidity through July 18, firefighters focused on strengthening containment lines the night of July 16 and point protection around structures. At least 573 personnel were assigned to the fire. Gov. Tina Kotek invoked the Emergency Conflagration Act for the Cram Fire on July 14, allowing the Oregon State Fire Marshal to send teams to conduct structure protection for homes in the area. It was the sixth time Kotek has invoked the act so far this fire season. More: Kotek declares state of emergency in Oregon due to imminent threat of wildfire Highway 97 is now open. Information about road closures can be found on Trip Check. Mariah Johnston is an outdoors journalism intern at the Statesman Journal. Reach her at mjohnston@ This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Oregon wildfires: Cram Fire grows to 77,158 acres in central Oregon
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Cram Fire explodes to 28,000 acres, closes Highway 97 in central Oregon
For the latest updates on the Cram Fire, click here. The Cram Fire exploded to 28,000 acres on July 15, shut down Highway 97 north of Madras and has degraded air quality in central Oregon. The fire, ignited July 13, was fueled by hot temperatures and gusty winds and grew rapidly to become the state's largest blaze. The fire brought widespread level 1, 2 and 3 evacuations to Wasco and Jefferson counties, near the small towns of Ashwood and Antelope. A full evacuation map can be found at Highway 97 is closed between mileposts 70 and 76 near Antelope and could stay that way for an extended period, fire officials said. Travelers should check before navigating the area. Air quality dropped to unhealthy levels in Madras by the afternoon of July 15 and moderate in the Bend area. As light east winds arrive in Oregon and temperatures heat up, smoke could spread west into the Cascade Range on July 16. Shelter opened for evacuees of Cram Fire in central Oregon A shelter has been opened at Madras Middle School, and a Red Cross team is set up at the Jefferson County Middle School as an evacuation site, according to the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office. The Jefferson County Fairgrounds said it would hold evacuees' large animals until July 18. Gov. Tina Kotek invoked the Emergency Conflagration Act for the Cram Fire on July 14, allowing the Oregon State Fire Marshal to send teams to conduct structure protection for homes in the area. It was the sixth time Kotek has invoked the act so far this fire season. 'The fire jumped Trout Creek and ran up Ranger Butte and is now moving to the southeast,' fire teams wrote the morning of July 15. 'The fire is burning in steep and rugged country with few roads and challenging access. Today's priorities will be structure protection and scouting for opportunities to construct containment lines." Fire crews are using airplanes and helicopters to cool hot spots and make tactical retardant drops. 'Temperatures are expected to be lower today, but conditions remain dry and receptive to ignition,' crews wrote. Zach Urness has been an outdoors reporter in Oregon for 18 years and is host of the Explore Oregon Podcast. He can be reached at zurness@ or (503) 399-6801. Find him on X at @ZachsORoutdoors and BlueSky at This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Oregon wildfires: Cram Fire closes Highway 97 in central Oregon Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Intel begins layoffs to become ‘leaner, faster, more efficient company'
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Intel has in an effort to become what the company calls a 'more lean and efficient' company. The tech giant told KOIN 6 News the decision is part of the new CEO's vision for the future that was . ODOT layoffs impact nearly 500 employees, largest in state government history, Gov. Kotek says A spokesperson for Intel shared the following statement: 'As we announced earlier this year, we are taking steps to become a leaner, faster and more efficient company. Removing organizational complexity and empowering our engineers will enable us to better serve the needs of our customers and strengthen our execution. We are making these decisions based on careful consideration of what's needed to position our business for the future, and we will treat people with care and respect as we complete this important work.' Stay with KOIN 6 News as we continue to follow this story. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
02-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Measure expanding foster youth rights passes Oregon Senate again, overriding Kotek veto
Sen. Sara Gelser Blouin, D-Corvallis, speaks on the Senate floor on Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2022. She is the lead author of a bill that the Senate passed again on Wednesday that would expand rights for foster youth in the state. (Ron Cooper/Oregon Capital Chronicle) Oregon senators rebuked Gov. Tina Kotek on Wednesday, voting overwhelmingly to override her veto of a bill that would strengthen and expand protections for Oregon's foster youth. Lawmakers voted 21-6 to repass Senate Bill 875 after the chamber learned of Kotek's veto, in which she said the policy exemplifies 'the risk of fragmented policymaking in this area.' The governor's perspective holds particular sway over the area of foster care investigations, with the office of the Children's Advocate housed in a governor advocacy office within the Oregon Department of Human Services. The issue of foster youth and care has been a contentious issue for Kotek, who unsuccessfully sought to push the Legislature this session to enact another bill lowering regulations around the transfer and seclusion of children in residential care and treatment centers. Senate Bill 875, meanwhile, would require a court order for blocking or limiting contact among foster children and their siblings. The measure also lists out several rights for foster kids, including being assigned an attorney, maintaining access to personal belongings like toys and being given appropriate luggage to carry their belongings. The bill's lead author, Sen. Sara Gelser Blouin, D-Corvallis, took to the floor minutes after legislative staff announced the veto to contest Kotek's points and argue for the bill's urgency. 'We really want to do everything we can to just prevent moving kids from their families, and we want to keep them up together,' she told her colleagues. 'Our current law says that that right exists as long as it's appropriate, but it doesn't say who makes that determination, and it doesn't really provide the youth who will be understanding why they are being denied that access.' The bill would also expand the definition of a child in care to include any child under custody of Oregon's Department of Human Services, encompassing children who live with parents during in-home safety plans or reunifications upon a trial. Kotek, however, saw that as ripe for misunderstanding. 'This means the law would expand the child abuse investigation framework for specialized child caring agencies to parents' homes,' she wrote Tuesday. 'It also shifts the standard from the type of placement to the legal status of the child without clarifying who is considered a perpetrator under the law.' Gelser Blouin, however, pushed back on Kotek's veto as a last-minute decision that sought no input from the bill's supporters. While the human services department wrote to the Legislature with questions and concerns about the legislation's language, she said Kotek's veto was 'a surprise.' 'We made adjustments to the bill. It has bipartisan sponsorship,' she said Wednesday. 'It passed both chambers with more than the two-thirds threshold, and at no point prior to that were the issues in this letter ever brought up to me by the governor's office.' The problem of child abuse and neglect in Oregon's foster care system has long been on the mind of foster youth advocates and state officials, with a 2024 oversight report from a Kotek-appointed watchdog finding that cases involving child welfare complaints were the most common type of case dealt with by the Oregon Department of Human Services. In 2023, Oregon's foster care system held custody of 7,282 children for at least one day in various facility placements such as family homes, professional treatment programs, psychiatric residential treatment, preadoptive homes, developmental disability-accomodative homes, or independent living, according to the state's most recent data published in October 2024. The bill was also amended in committee amid concerns over a provision that would also allow foster children the ability to decline to attend or participate in religious activities, which some conservative lawmakers feared would restrict families who are religious from adopting and fostering kids. The only lawmaker who spoke out against overriding the veto, Sen. Mark Meek, D-Gladstone, said he had questions about how the bill of rights would be provided to younger children who don't know how to read. He was wary of going against Kotek's wishes, pointing to an ongoing workgroup passed by lawmakers last year that is studying legal concerns over the definitions of victims, perpetrators and abuse involving children. 'I'm very concerned about overriding what the governor's recommendations are, and we are the body in which we produce these laws, produce these bills of writing,' he warned his colleagues. 'We have a chance to step back, take into consideration the governor's concerns, or maybe dig into those policies and see how we can fix them.' Another bill sponsor, Sen. Cedric Hayden, R-Falls Creek, urged lawmakers to get all of the Legislature's current work supporting foster youth 'over the finish line.' On Wednesday, he shared with his colleagues his own personal experiences struggling to work with the human services department while seeking custody for two children that were once abandoned with him. 'Because of the unfortunate circumstances of these children's early lives, the state is the de facto parent for these children,' he said in a statement following the vote. 'That means it's our job to provide them a safe, secure home, health care, and an education. It means we cannot stand for them to be abused.' In order to be passed, the bill would still need to clear the House with a two-thirds majority vote. In her Tuesday veto, Kotek also blocked Senate Bill 736, which would have enhanced communication between law enforcement, the human services department, and parents and guardians undergoing child abuse investigations. The Senate voted 18-9 to retain that bill in the chamber with no further official action. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Updated at 5:53 p.m. with comments from bill sponsor Sen. Cedric Hayden, R-Falls Creek.
