Local News
News Stories for Mon., Aug. 14, 2017
Aug
The Nena Springs Wildfire held at 40,000 acres yesterday (8/13/17) and is now listed at 60% containment. The North end of the Nena Springs Fire continued to expand to the east Saturday reaching the Deschutes River near the Dant area, but did not cross the river. Light rain showers fell Saturday night and into Sunday morning as a weak cold front moved through. The rains and cooler temperatures helped slow the fires progression.
Focus today will continue today on mop up plus on the Northeast and Eastern edge of the fire with challenging terrain in the in the Nena Creek drainage and Deschutes River Canyon. Also on buttoning up a hot spot near Beaver Creek and doing work on the Southeast perimeter by the Mutton Mountains.
Structure protection resources made good progress around the communities of Simnasho, Mutton Mountain and Indian Head Canyon.
All Level 3 evacuation notices have been cancelled. And the Red Cross shelter at the Warm Springs Community Center closed yesterday. The Kah-Nee-Ta Resort, the Fish Hatchery Grade area, the Charlie Canyon Subdivision and Wolf Point remain at a Level 1 evacuation notice. The Schoolie Flat, Simnasho, and S-300 subdivisions are all at Level 2, however only residents will be allowed in at this time. The S-300 Road and Highway 3 remain closed to non-residents to allow fire traffic to safely patrol the area.
Last night was the last nightshift for firefighters. Some equipment and crew resources are being demobilized today. Northwest Incident Management Team 12 and the State Fire Marshall Blue Team will return command of the fire to the local Warm Springs Agency Wednesday morning at 6am.
The estimated date for full containment on the Nena Springs Fire is September 1, 2017.
It’s one week until the Total Solar Eclipse and traffic on highway 26 is already increasing. Please drive carefully and allow extra time for travelling and be patient. Also – get your grocery shopping done now and remember to pick up any medication you’ll need before things get busier. Remember to make sure you have 3 gallons of water on hand for each person in your home just in case you need it. The solar eclipse community meeting is rescheduled to tomorrow at 5:30 at the Community center.
It’s back to school today for the Warm Springs K-8 Academy. A grant is extending the school year by 10 day. We will have 7 days in the next two weeks with a break for the Solar Eclipse. The buse schedule is posted on the kwso website in today’s community calendar. Bus 59 will start 6.6 miles down Tenino road at 7:39 and will come up Tenino to West Hills then making the group stops in Greeley Heights on Looksh. Bus 61 – the Seekseequa bus – will make its first stop at 5630 Jackson Trail Road at 7:09. The bus will come back down toward Warm Springs with stops for Upper Dry Creek, Meca Road, Ben Lane and Miller Heights. Bus 63 starts pick up at Charley Canyon at 7:06 then goes to the KNT Hamlets, Culpus Bride, Wolfe Point, Sunnyside & ECE. Bus 64 makes its first stop at 7:17 on Sunnyside Drive with stops in Upper Dry Creek, Miller Heights, CPS and West Hills. Bus 66 is the Simnasho bus that will start its run at 6:51 at 7102 Hwy 3 on Schoolie Flat then thru Simnasho to the B100 road on Sidwaler to County Line Road. They will also pick up at the Trailer Courts, Tenino Apartments and ECE.
