News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
Sorted by date Results 26 - 50 of 201
With Russian President Vladimir Putin cutting off natural gas supplies, Northern Europeans are scrambling and reverting to firewood to heat their homes, boil water and cook. It is rapidly becoming a hedge against skyrocketing energy prices and uncertain fuel supplies. Cuts in shipments of Russian natural gas, used to power electricity grids and heat homes, is the biggest factor driving rates higher. Suddenly, Europeans are facing firewood scarcities and bulging orders for wood furnaces. West Ber...
Evacuation alert issued in Okanogan County A wildfire in Carlton warranted a level 2 (be ready to go) evacuation alert Tuesday afternoon that was still active by early evening. The Leecher Fire near 188 Vintin Road was about 30 acres in size at 6 p.m. County fire districts 3, 6 and 15 had been dispatched and were making good progress, the county’s Emergency Management Department reported. Firefighters with the state Department of Natural Resources were expected to remain through the night. Mosquito district has open seats The Grant County M...
The wildfire smoke in the air, which may come from this or that fire depending on which way the wind is blowing, is unpleasant and unhealthy to breathe, and has an effect on local events. Grand Coulee Dam School District leaders discussed air quality at their board meeting on Sept. 12 when Superintendent Paul Turner discussed www.purpleair.com, showing how sensors installed at volunteer locations measure air quality. Local sensors on the network include one south of Osborn Bay, one near Spring Canyon, one in downtown Grand Coulee, another in ea...
We just completed Summer 2022. Before you say, “wait, summer isn’t over yet,” let me remind you there are two ways to look at our seasons. The information here is based on meteorological seasons, not astronomical. Meteorological seasons are based on the annual temperature cycle. On the other hand, Astronomical seasons are based on the position of the sun relative to Earth. Meteorological season are as follows -- Spring is March, April and May. Summer is June, July and August. Fall is Septe...
Fall approaching doesn't mean we are in the clear as far as wildfires go, and many of our worst fire seasons have happened in September and October. "Washington state is in the midst of wildfire season," the Washington State Department of Health warned in a statement last week. "Although it's been a mild season to date, it is important to be prepared and ready to protect yourself and your family from wildfire smoke before the smoke hits." It was in September of 2020 that about half a million acr...
Wildfires in recent years have had a devastating impact on the U.S., including within the Colville Indian Reservation, and a representative from the area will now serve on a federal commission tasked with addressing the issue of these fires. Recently appointed the Colville Confederated Tribes executive director and their former Natural Resources director, Cody Desautel is one of 47 people selected from 500 applicants nationwide appointed to the new federal Wildland Fire Mitigation and...
Having come here in 1985, and having lived in Spokane before that, my idea of a normal summer includes high heat reaching into the 90s. Now, we’re trying to accept the latest triple-digit trend as the “new normal.” That’s a mistake. Just because we live through a heat wave, or “heat dome” two or three times, doesn’t mean it’s OK, normal. It’s not, and our changing weather seems to be changing our landscape, with fire the great change agent. Burn scars don’t always rebound to their prior state. There used to be more sagebrush on the hi...
The Colville Tribes has a new executive director in Cody Desautel. "The Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation has appointed Cody Desautel to serve as the Tribes' new Executive Director," stated Colville Business Council Chairman Jarred-Michael Erickson in a July 21 press release. The executive director is the administrative head of tribal government and reports directly to the 14-member governing CBC. "Cody is well known to us and to tribal membership due to his prior service as...
In the last couple weeks, this community has shone brightly with examples of strength and good will and a readiness to step up and do what is needed. First, people immediately stepped up to answer a communitywide need: to support an important park at North Dam, home of many community events and activities, giving thousands to keep it in operation this summer, even knowing that a full solution has yet to be found for the basic underlying problem. Next, the Siam Palace and many volunteers arranged to put on a dinner to raise money to help a...
The Colville Tribes has a new executive director, the tribes announced Thursday night. "The Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation has appointed Cody Desautel to serve as the Tribes' new Executive Director," stated CBC Chairman Jarred-Michael Erickson in a press release. The executive director is the administrative head of tribal government and reports directly to the 14-member governing Colville Business Council. "Cody is well known to us and to tribal membership due to his prior...
Colville Confederated Tribes Natural Resources Director Cody Desautel is one of 47 people, selected from 500 applicants, appointed to the new federal Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission. The U.S. Departments of Agriculture, the Interior and Homeland Security through the Federal Emergency Management Agency announced the selections on July 7. The commission will “play a key role in recommending ways that federal agencies can better prevent, mitigate, suppress, and manage wildland fires. It will also recommend policies and s...
Affordable housing, good jobs, good schools are just a part of Kari Alexander's vision for Okanogan County as she runs for county commissioner. Alexander would like to see youth more involved in the local government. "Our youth are the future of this county," she wrote in an email to The Star. "I think we all want to ensure that Okanogan County is the kind of place our kids want to come back to and raise their own families - which means we need affordable starter homes, good jobs, and good...
The headlines in recent weeks have been startling: Extreme heat and energy shortfalls in much of the country could lead to power outages this summer across the Midwest, Texas and California, and another active wildfire season in the West will pose even more reliability risks for the power system. The nation’s power grid is under incredible pressure. Growing electricity demand, climate change and carbon-reduction policies are increasing the risk of blackouts. As states phase out fossil fuels, the Northwest Power and Conservation Council reports...
A mystery substance has shut down Coulee Medical Center after three employees in the lab area became ill for unknown reasons Tuesday afternoon. CMC was evacuated and employees sent home, and a hazmat team has been requested to investigate. No one knows what made the lab workers ill, other than an odor, but their conditions were apparently not serious. It started with headaches, then chest pains, shortness of breath and vomiting. They've been checked out and released. No patients were affected,... Full story
Children on the Colville Indian Reservation have been dispersing "seed bombs" in areas affected by wildfires in recent years to help restore native species to the areas. The "Healing the Earth" program is conducted by the Washington State University Colville Reservation Extension 4-H program, which partners and collaborates with the Colville Confederated Tribes and Bureau of Indian Affairs natural resource programs, including Environmental Trust, Range, Fish & Wildlife, and Mt. Tolman Fire...
Regenerating millions of western forested acres scorched by large wildfires is a herculean task costing hundreds of billions. However, healthy growing woodlands are essential to reducing atmospheric CO2 and providing abundant clean air and fresh water for people, crops, fish, and wildlife. According to the National Interagency Fire Center, nearly 3 million acres have already burned this year in the U.S., mostly in Arizona, New Mexico, and Alaska. By year’s end, that total may exceed 2019, w...
A UH60 Blackhawk helicopter demonstrated its fire-fighting abilities last week by sucking water out of Banks Lake through a "snorkel" into its 1,100 gallon tank, then dumping the water onto the runway at the Grand Coulee Dam Airport. The Washington State Department of Natural Resources contracts with the California-based company High Performance Helicopters to station aircraft throughout the state, including at the Grand Coulee Dam Airport, in case of wildfire. Administrative and Accounting...
Okanogan County is starting the process to update its Community Wildfire Protection Plan, which may address issues such as wildfire response, hazard mitigation, community preparedness, or structure protection. Okanogan County Emergency Management would like to engage the public and other governmental agencies in the process, it said in an emailed announcement Tuesday. The agency will hold the “first of many meetings” Tuesday, May 17, at 6 p.m. in the Commissioner’s Hearing Room, at 123 5th Ave. North in Okanogan. It will be an in-person meeti...
Thinning public woodlands to remove millions of dead trees is a way to generate much needed cash to reduce wildfire risks, improve forest health, and protect rural homeowners and farms. It is money the U.S. Forest Service and Washington’s Dept. of Natural Resources don’t have because the bulk of their funds are tied up fighting fires. Our state’s wildfire severity has worsened in recent years. The 2020 fire season was particularly destructive. Over 1,250 square miles burned in more than 1,600...
Wood buildings are making a comeback in the Pacific Northwest thanks to new laminated timber products. Even very large buildings are now constructed with laminated beams and are successfully competing with steel and concrete building materials. For example, the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, is home to one of the world’s tallest “cross laminated timber” (CLT) buildings. Brock Commons, a student residence, is 174 feet high. The 18-story dorm houses more than 400 students. Cross...
A fire burned 200 acres in trees and grass north of Nespelem on Monday. The Nespelem Creek Fire started at about noon on April 4 according to Public Information Officer Kathy Moses of the Mount Tolman Fire Center. She said gusts of wind knocked down a tree, which knocked down power lines, causing a power outage, sparking up dry grass and starting a wildfire in a field that threatened one home in the area. Wind gusts were at 27 miles per hour, pushing the wildfire through a field of tall grass....
Washington’s Board of Natural Resources is considering banning timber harvesting on state lands. That is extremely unwise. Instead, the Board must ensure its healthy forest policies incorporate ALL management tools, including planting, thinning and logging. The Board, established in 1957, sets policies to manage Washington’s 5.6 million acres granted by Congress in 1889. More than 3 million acres were designated as trust lands, of which 2.1 million acres are forests, to support various public institutions. Banning timber harvesting robs cri...
As you may have heard, the Washington State Redistricting Commission approved maps to rebalance our 49 statewide legislative districts and 10 federal congressional districts in November. This is a process conducted every 10 years in our state based on the federal Census data for population. The process was challenging in 2021, in part because the commission received data later than usual and because of the significant population growth shown in western Washington. Despite approving the plans late, the Washington State Supreme Court ruled that...
Together we have experienced another astronomical event, we are now in autumn. Temperatures are falling and many of us are breathing a slight sigh of relief. Wildfire smoke has dissipated, yet we are still in drought. Nationally, our region is in the sixth percentile of Exceptional Drought, also known as “D4.” Areas to our south are still burning. The largest wildfire still active, the Dixie Fire in Northern California, is well over 900,000 acres. Here in Washington state, the Schneider Spr...
For the first time in a long time, we have good news for our family farmers who have been under tremendous economic strain caused by drought, wildfires, and extreme heat. Last week, the president signed into law H.R. 5305 – Extending Government Funding and Delivering Emergency Assistance Act (Continuing Resolution). A short-term funding solution to keep our government running is never ideal, but this Continuing Resolution provides for many of Central Washington’s priorities. Specifically, this law includes $28.6 billion in emergency sup...