Latest news with #ScottGreen
Yahoo
01-07-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Cottonwood Canyon survives flames of Ferry Fire, will reopen June 20. How it was saved
Scott Green was driving toward Cottonwood Canyon State Park on the night of June 11 when he first saw the glow of the Ferry Fire. The park's manager couldn't tell exactly where the fire was moving, but with powerful winds swirling and the campground packed to capacity, he made the decision to evacuate the park that night. 'We got everyone out pretty quickly,' Green said about the evacuation of a park located in eastern Oregon southeast of The Dalles. 'Some folks even left their belongings and just got in their car and left fast as they could.' By the next morning, the fast-moving blaze was at the entrance of the park and the fight was on, as fire crews blasted water from engines and aircraft, and lit backburns, in an attempt to save as much of the park as possible. They succeeded well beyond Green's hopes. The Ferry Fire would eventually burn over 10,000 acres, including across the park, yet all the major buildings survived intact. Only the park's hiker/biker sites, picnic tables, shade structures and fencing were lost. Cottonwood Canyon will reopen on June 20 — a little more than a week from when the fire ignited. The park's cabins are expected to open the following week, around June 27. 'It could have been so much worse,' Green said. 'At one point with the fire all around the park, I thought we could lose everything.' Green credited two things for saving the park and allowing it to reopen so quickly. The first was firefighters, who hit the blaze with water and retardant drops from the sky, engines pumping water and fire crews lighting 'backburns' that slowed the fire from reaching structures within the park. 'Fire crews did a great job of stopping it,' Green said. 'It was an all-hands on deck firefight.' Green and park staff had also been planning for the possibility of wildfire. They recently went through a training with the Oregon State Fire Marshal on creating defensible space, and they'd prioritized it over the past year. They cleared vegetation like grass and sagebrush around the buildings and surrounded the structures with gravel. All of the structures now have metal roofs except a historic barn. "You can definitely tell where we applied it," Green said. "The cabins, for example, after the fire it was totally black in the fields in the front and in back of them. But the 50 feet we cleared around the cabins, there was nothing.' The combination of firefighters and defensible space likely saved the park's showers and bathrooms, information center, picnic shelters, historic barn, cabins, residence, boat shed and 'experience center.' Power and water have been restored to the park, and the campsites are fine, meaning people can begin to return to Cottonwood Canyon on June 20. Cabins will be open for rental about a week later, on June 27. Green said the trails at the park are open and so is access to the river where people can swim or fish. 'There are plenty of areas along the river that didn't burn at all,' Green said. However, he stressed, the look of the park is fairly different. The entire surrounding landscape, and much of the park, is black soot. 'We're hoping to get signs up that tell people to stay out of the burn areas, just because we don't know what hazard or impact on a person's health it could have,' he said. Even so, the fact that the park is able to open, just over a week from when Green first saw that glow of wildfire on the hills, is fairly remarkable. 'I think it speaks to how well defensible space really works when you do it,' Green said. 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: Cottonwood Canyon survives flames of Ferry Fire, to reopen on June 20
Washington Post
05-02-2025
- Sport
- Washington Post
NFL referees union calls allegations of bias toward the Chiefs 'insulting'
NEW ORLEANS — The head of the union representing NFL officials called allegations that officiating crews are biased in favor of the Kansas City Chiefs or any other team 'insulting and preposterous.' NFL Referees Association executive director Scott Green released a statement on Tuesday thanking Commissioner Roger Goodell for dismissing the allegations and responding to 'conspiracy theories' on social media about favoritism to the Chiefs. 'Commissioner Goodell's comments that it is 'ridiculous' to presume that NFL officials are not doing everything possible to make the right call on every play is spot on,' Green said. 'Officiating crews do not work the same team more than twice each regular season. It is insulting and preposterous to hear conspiracy theories that somehow 17 officiating crews consisting of 138 officials are colluding to assist one team.' A handful of high-profile calls in the playoffs that have gone in Kansas City's favor have fueled the theories of favoritism, with Houston getting penalized for two illegal hits on Patrick Mahomes in the divisional round and Josh Allen being ruled just short of converting a fourth-and-1 sneak in Kansas City's 32-29 victory over Buffalo in the AFC championship game. But a deeper look at all penalties shows no signs of systematic bias. The Chiefs have been penalized for 120 more yards than their opponents in the regular season and playoffs since the start of the 2022 playoffs. Kansas City has also benefited from 10 fewer first downs by penalty on third or fourth down in that span and has had only a small edge in penalty-yard differential in the fourth quarter or overtime of close games. 'There are many things that fans can worry about over a 17-game season, such as coaching decisions, player injuries, the weather and, yes, even close calls on incredible plays made by incredible athletes,' Green said. 'But you can rest assured that on every single down, NFL officials, both on the field and in the replay booth, are doing everything humanly possible to officiate every play correctly.' ___ AP NFL:
Yahoo
05-02-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
NFL referees union calls allegations of bias toward the Chiefs 'insulting'
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The head of the union representing NFL officials called allegations that officiating crews are biased in favor of the Kansas City Chiefs or any other team 'insulting and preposterous.' NFL Referees Association executive director Scott Green released a statement on Tuesday thanking Commissioner Roger Goodell for dismissing the allegations and responding to 'conspiracy theories' on social media about favoritism to the Chiefs. 'Commissioner Goodell's comments that it is 'ridiculous' to presume that NFL officials are not doing everything possible to make the right call on every play is spot on,' Green said. 'Officiating crews do not work the same team more than twice each regular season. It is insulting and preposterous to hear conspiracy theories that somehow 17 officiating crews consisting of 138 officials are colluding to assist one team.' See for yourself — The Yodel is the go-to source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories. By signing up, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy. A handful of high-profile calls in the playoffs that have gone in Kansas City's favor have fueled the theories of favoritism, with Houston getting penalized for two illegal hits on Patrick Mahomes in the divisional round and Josh Allen being ruled just short of converting a fourth-and-1 sneak in Kansas City's 32-29 victory over Buffalo in the AFC championship game. But a deeper look at all penalties shows no signs of systematic bias. The Chiefs have been penalized for 120 more yards than their opponents in the regular season and playoffs since the start of the 2022 playoffs. Kansas City has also benefited from 10 fewer first downs by penalty on third or fourth down in that span and has had only a small edge in penalty-yard differential in the fourth quarter or overtime of close games. 'There are many things that fans can worry about over a 17-game season, such as coaching decisions, player injuries, the weather and, yes, even close calls on incredible plays made by incredible athletes,' Green said. 'But you can rest assured that on every single down, NFL officials, both on the field and in the replay booth, are doing everything humanly possible to officiate every play correctly." ___ AP NFL:
USA Today
04-02-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
NFL Referees Association pushes back against 'insulting' Chiefs conspiracy theories
One day after NFL commissioner Roger Goodell called theories of referees favoring the Kansas City Chiefs 'ridiculous,' NFL Referees Association executive director Scott Green agreed, called the idea that referees give the Kansas City Chiefs a favorable whistle 'insulting' and The NFL Referees Association released a statement Tuesday calling the notion that refs give the Kansas City Chiefs a favorable whistle 'insulting.' The statement comes a day after NFL commissioner Roger Goodell called the Chiefs conspiracy theories 'ridiculous.' NFLRA executive director Scott Green agreed with Goodell in the statement posted to X by NFL Network's Tom Pelissero, and tried to illustrate how difficult something like that would be to pull off. 'Officiating crews do not work the same team more than twice each regular season,' Green said. 'It is insulting and preposterous to hear conspiracy theories that somehow 17 officiating crews consisting of 138 officials are colluding to assist one team. Statement from NFL Referees Association executive director Scott Green, who says: 'It is insulting and preposterous to hear conspiracy theories that somehow 17 officiating crews consisting of 138 officials are colluding to assist one team.' — Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) February 4, 2025 The statement went on to note how officials are graded on every play of every game, and how those grades determine postseason assignments. While all of that stuff makes a scandal like the one being alleged incredibly unlikely, it wouldn't be impossible. Refs have been approached about fixing games in the past, former VP of officiating Dean Blandino told Awful Announcing in 2023. The idea that refs give the Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes a favorable whistle isn't new, as Kansas City gets set to play in its fifth Super Bowl of the last six years, but it did bubble up again after a controversial penalty against the Texans in the divisional playoffs. Green's statement is likely meant to quiet some of that talk, but it won't do much change people's minds if more borderline calls go Kansas City's way in the Super Bowl. Gambling involves risk. Please only gamble with funds that you can comfortably afford to lose. While we do our utmost to offer good advice and information we cannot be held responsible for any loss that may be incurred as a result of gambling. We do our best to make sure all the information that we provide on this site is correct. However, from time to time mistakes will be made and we will not be held liable. Please check any stats or information if you are unsure how accurate they are. No guarantees are made with regards to results or financial gain. All forms of betting carry financial risk and it is up to the individual to make bets with or without the assistance of information provided on this site and we cannot be held responsible for any loss that may be incurred as a result of following the betting tips provided on this site. Past performances do not guarantee success in the future and betting odds fluctuate from one minute to the next. The material contained on this site is intended to inform, entertain and educate the reader and in no way represents an inducement to gamble legally or illegally or any sort of professional advice. Gannett may earn revenue from sports betting operators for audience referrals to betting services. Sports betting operators have no influence over nor are any such revenues in any way dependent on or linked to the newsrooms or news coverage. Terms apply, see operator site for Terms and Conditions. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, help is available. Call the National Council on Problem Gambling 24/7 at 1-800-GAMBLER (NJ, OH), 1-800-522-4700 (CO), 1-800-BETS-OFF (IA), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN). Must be 21 or older to gamble. Sports betting and gambling are not legal in all locations. Be sure to comply with laws applicable where you reside. It is your sole responsibility to act in accordance with your local laws.
