News Stories for Tue., Aug. 15, 2017

The solar eclipse is coming up on Monday and no matter what your plans are or where you plan to view the celestial event, you need to do it safely. Part of that means taking care of your eyes. There are solar eclipse glasses available at the optometry department at I H S. Solar eclipse viewing glasses will also be distributed this Thursday at the Simnasho Fire Hall between 6:00 – 8:00 PM.   And, glasses will also be given out Sunday at the Native Sol Event and at the Warm Springs K8 Academy where the community is invited to watch the Eclipse on Monday.

The U.S. Geological Survey has awarded $4.9 million to six universities and a nonprofit to help advance an early warning system for earthquakes along the West Coast. The federal agency says the ShakeAlert system could give people seconds or up to a minute of warning before strong shaking begins. The University of Washington, Central Washington University and University of Oregon are among those receiving grants. Congress provided $10.2 million in money to the USGS earthquake hazards program earlier this year. The grants will help scientists thoroughly test the system and improve its performance. New seismic stations also will be installed to boost speed and reliability of warnings.\

The Nena Springs Fire has burned 40,000 acres on the Warm Springs Reservation in the Schoolie Flat and Simnasho areas as well as north of Simnasho and north – northeast of the reservation boundary.  The fire has not grown for two days and is now 80% contained.  The human caused fire started on private property shortly after 5:00 on Tuesday August 8^th.  Firefighting actions today include mop up, patrol of the fire perimeter and cold trailing. Today is the last day on the Nena Springs fire for the Northwest Incident Management Team 12 and the State Fire Marshall Team Blue.

Elsewhere in Central Oregon, the Milli Fire, in the Three Sisters Wilderness, is now 150 acres and 2% contained.. This fire is currently 8 miles west of Sisters and about one and a half miles southwest of Black Crater Lake. The Whychus Fire, about 8 miles northeast of Sisters is currently 2030 acres and 80% contained. The Belknap Fire, located in the Mill Creek Wilderness on the Ochoco National Forest, is currently 120 acres and 0% contained. The Willamette and Deschutes national forests announced Monday evening that due to the several wildfires, they are implementing an area closure that will cover a large portion of the Three Sisters Wilderness today.