If you live in northwest Oregon, you’re probably thinking the state is surely water-logged. While Portland is having the wettest spring on record, portions of northwest and northeast Oregon are near or above average, but central, southeast, and southwest Oregon are below average.

Seasonal snowpack was below normal for all but the far-northern Cascades in the vicinity of Mt. Hood. As of early April, several snow monitoring stations in south-central and southeast Oregon had recorded complete melt-out for the season.

Oregon’s Governor Brown has already declared a drought in Crook, Gilliam, Harney, Jackson, Jefferson, Klamath, and Morrow counties.

Additional counties are likely to request drought declarations.

Oregon’s forecast is getting hotter and drier, leading to more wildfires, which can happen suddenly and grow quickly.

Portland General Electric (PGE) sent out notices for consumers to prepare their households for outages for “wildfire season.” PGE says, “If extreme weather hits, we may turn off the power as a last-resort safety measure, which could last several hours or multiple days.”

National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) reports a steady 163 percent increase every year in wildfire activity.

NFPA launched Outthink Wildfire to solve the wildfire problem with five tenets for all levels of government to follow.

They suggest the public understand its role and take action in reducing wildfire risk making homes more resistant to ignition from wildfire embers and flames, fire departments must be prepared to respond safely and effectively to wildfires, and government must increase resources for vegetative fuel management on public lands.

Even if there were no wildfires, there is still a chance for blackouts.

The passage of SB 1044 didn’t help. It encoding into law the requirement that nine out of 10 new car sales be electric by 2035. Will utilities be able to increase the grid to keep up with the demand?

When Representative Pam Marsh (D-Ashland) sponsored HB 2021 in 2021, there were numerous experts that warned of the likelihood of rolling blackouts related to supply and stability.

It passed with the presumption that it allows for use of other sources in unstable periods. As other sources are forced out of business via the standards, what backup will be available to stabilize electric power?

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

The City of Forest Grove is using state funding to pay residents $500 to install a charging station if they own an electric vehicle. The rebate will be available to all prior and future purchases for residential and commercial chargers.

Currently there are 269 electric vehicles registered within its coverage area using 12 public charging stations operated by Forest Grove Light & Power.

Quarterly usage has increase from 484 kilowatts to 4,665 kilowatts in one year.

PGE’s notice to be prepared in case an outage occurs includes staying updated online or on email lists with utilities for alerts.

Make an outage kit and gather what is needed to keep your family and pets fed and hydrated.

Have a plan for household needs and how you’ll care for a family member with a medical condition or your animals, especially if you rely on an electric pump for your water well. And we should now add if you have an electric car. Plan ahead to where you can relocate -- friend, family member or to a shelter.

If in the path of a wildfire, know the evacuation route if needed (see your county's evacuation guide). Create a line of defense around your home.

Whether it is the weather, wildfire complications or overuse, the main responsibility of government is the safety of Oregonians.


--Donna Bleiler

Post Date: 2022-05-12 13:27:23

Last Update: 2022-05-12 13:52:06