News Stories for Mon., Aug. 21, 2017

After almost two weeks, the 68,000-acre Nena Springs Fire on the Warm Springs Reservation is 60 percent contained today and all evacuation notices have been reduced to Level 1.

The Milli Fire burning west of Sisters grew to more than 9,300 acres as of late Sunday.  After several days of no containment, it was brought to 20 percent containment yesterday. Some 500 firefighters are working on that fire. Thick smoke in the Sisters area brought “hazardous” pollution levels, later dropping to “unhealthy,” officials said.

Traffic was moving relatively well in Oregon over the weekend. The Oregon Department of Transportation said though traffic was rolling pretty smoothly, it is expected to get heavier as the day progresses as people flock to view the first coast-to-coast total solar eclipse in the United States since 1918. The next total solar eclipse in the U.S. will be in 2024. The next coast-to-coast one will not be until 2045.

It is Eclipse Day! The day Eclipse fans have been anticipating quite a while. The Total Solar Eclipse occurs in Oregon this morning starting at 10:15 a.m. on the Oregon Coast. The eclipse peak in Warm Springs starts at 10:20 this morning, when the moon will obscure 100% of the sun. You will start seeing the eclipse at 9:07, again totality won’t last long, the total eclipse is at 10:20 and lasts near 2 minutes, and the end of the eclipse is around 11:40.

The Total Solar Eclipse will occur at 10:20am this morning in Warm Springs.  Viewing locations in Warm Springs where Eclipse Glasses are available are at the Warm Springs K-8 Academy football field.  Also at the Native Sol Event in front of Community Counseling.  Make sure your special viewing glasses are not damaged and wear them to view the eclipse to protect your eyes.

Tribal teams are launching high altitude balloons today from the WSK8 Academy football field.  The first set of balloons will launch at 8:50, and the second set at 9:10.