News Stories for Tue., Sep. 12, 2017

Culture & Heritage Language classes are being offered to all students at the Warm Springs K-8 Academy. They will have Ichishkin, Kikst and Numu Language Classes Tuesday through Friday for the school year. Parents need to sign students up at the school office. Culture & Heritage is also doing arts and crafts with students at the Rise & Shine Program on Late Start Mondays.

Hiking trails affected by the Eagle Creek Fire in the Columbia River Gorge might be closed for months, authorities said Monday. Landslide risk, potential for falling trees, root snags and severe erosion as the winter rains start will have repair crews busy until spring, Dawn Stender, a trail crew supervisor for the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, told The Oregonian. The fire in the Gorge has displaced hundreds of residents, shut down Interstate 84 and burned 52 square miles since it started over the Labor Day weekend in one of Oregon’s most treasured natural places.

The Pendleton Round-Up second day slack for timed events is underway. There will be tie-down roping, steer wrestling, team roping, and the second round of steer roping. Yesterday, Tuff Cooper of Decatur, Texas took the first round of steer roping. Kimmie Wall of Roosevelt, Utah leads the barrel racing in the first round. It’s the last night for the Banner Bank Pendleton PBR Classic. It begins at 8 p.m. in the Happy Canyon Arena. The Round Up officially runs Wednesday through Saturday.

The Warm Springs Reservation’s fire season restrictions were updated this week. The reservation has gone into an Industrial Fire Precaution level 4 – a complete shutdown – for Zone 1, and a Level 3 for Zones 2 & 3 with “extreme” fire danger in all zones. The notice says conditions and fire danger index are at critical levels.