News

Can’t Stand the Heat

Central Oregon battles three-figure temperatures, with average temperatures above 100 all week long

By Jack Harvel

Central Oregon was projected to have several days of high heat, exceeding 100 degrees Fahrenheit Tuesday through Saturday. With last year’s heat dome fresh in the minds of Oregonians, local governments are urging people to take precautions.

On July 26 Oregon Gov. Kate Brown declared a state of emergency for 26 Oregon counties through July 31. The order directs the Oregon Department of Emergency Management to coordinate with statewide agencies and respond to disaster areas in protection of lives, property and the environment.

“With many parts of Oregon facing a high heat wave, it is critical that every level of government has the resources they need to help keep Oregonians safe and healthy,” Brown stated in a press release. “I encourage everyone to take proactive steps to keep themselves and their families safe, including drinking plenty of fluids, taking advantage of cooling centers, and checking in on neighbors, friends, and loved ones.”

Last year’s fatal heat dome was the deadliest weather event in Canadian history, killing over 800 people in western Canada. It was also responsible for the deaths of nearly 200 people across Washington and Oregon. Most of the deaths in Oregon were in Multnomah County, but two Bend residents experiencing homelessness also passed away during the heat wave. This year the Oregon Health Authority is distributing air conditioning units to the most at-risk individuals. It delivered 500 the weekend prior to the heat wave and is expected to procure 3,000 over the summer.

“Climate change has made extreme heat events the rule, not the exception, during Oregon’s summer months,” said OHA Director Patrick Allen in a press release. “These air conditioning units are a necessary step for building resilience to this health threat, particularly for those most vulnerable to heat exhaustion, heat stroke and death.”

Still, with the temps reaching heights at a more predicted time, officials are hopeful that the region won’t see quite the same extremes this year.

“Last year was record-breaking—that was at the end of June. Typically, we see our hottest temperatures in July or late August, so we’re not looking at temperatures as warm as last year,” said Jim Smith, meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in Pendleton.

Oregon’s highest recorded temperature happened during last year’s heat wave, when it reached 119 degrees north of Madras. This week’s heat wave is expected to hover around 105 degrees during the day. The cooling effect overnight is expected to be minimal.

“It’s important to note that overnight temperatures, the recovery is not as good as normal. The low temperatures are only 60s and even maybe around the lower 70s Wednesday and Thursday night, so it’s not quite getting as cool,” Smith said.

Older people living alone, people in multifamily buildings and people experiencing houselessness were disproportionately killed or hospitalized because of the heat last year. Deschutes County encouraged people to check on elderly neighbors and family members twice a day. Local nonprofits specializing in houselessness are hosting cooling shelters to keep people cool.

In Bend, the Shepherd’s House shelter on Second Street is open from 11am–6pm at least through Friday. The Masonic Hall on Eighth Street is open from 9am-1pm, and a mister tent is also set up on Hunnell Road, where many people park RVs. In Redmond, Shepherd’s House also invites people to cool down at Grace Gate Church. A mister tent is also set up on 17th Street in Redmond.

“When it gets really hot, we see a spike in the number of people that access our services,” said David Notari, director of development at Shepherd’s House Ministries. “We’ve seen that for the last eight-plus years that we’ve done sheltering in the winter, and then at some specialty times in the summers where we opened up heat sheltering.”

Courtesy of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

A heatmap shows a significant amount of Oregon can expect high temperatures this week.

Jack Harvel

The City of Bend set up this misting tent on Hunnell Road north of town.

Floater Drowns in Whitewater Park

A death occurred at Bend’s Whitewater Park, the park’s second of all time — and this year

By Jack Harvel

Joseph Clarence Torkelson died on Friday, July 22, one day after being recovered from Bend’s Whitewater Park, officials said.

Torkelson started the float upstream with a roommate on July 21, according to the Bend Police Department. From the footbridge adjacent to Colorado Avenue, passersby spotted the 56-year-old unresponsive in the park’s middle passage, upstream from the surf wave. They asked a nearby kayaker to pull him out and by 2:20 pm he was out of the water and was given CPR before the police and fire department arrived, who then continued conducting CPR. The area Torkelson was found is off-limits for floaters.

“Instead of staying to the left to ride through the gentle rapids at Colorado Avenue, Torkelson somehow ended up on the wrong side of the buoys and was sucked under and through the dam. Shortly thereafter, Torkelson was found and pulled from the river,” the Bend Police Department wrote in a press release.

The Whitewater Park remained open throughout the incident, though the Colorado Avenue Bridge was briefly closed. Torkelson is the second person to die at Bend’s Whitewater Park since April. In April, 17-yearold surfer Ben Murphy drowned after his foot became stuck on an underwater gate that controls the park’s surf wave.

Jack Harvel

A 56-year-old man drowned in Bend’s Whitewater Park, the second death at the park this year. The park opened in 2015.

Camping Code Continues

Regulations on campsites on City property could be put in place as early as October

By Jack Harvel

The Bend City Council continued its efforts to manage campsites in public right of ways at its regular meeting on July 20. Over a month prior the City Council directed staff to establish a work group to tackle the time, place and manner restrictions that could be placed on campsites on City property; the decision at its most recent regular meeting reversed course and instead opted for a faster option that skips over the lengthier option of creating a work group.

The policy would have to comply with Martin v. Boise, a federal case whose ruling means municipalities within the 9th Circuit cannot cite people for camping in a right of way if they have no other place to go. The City can’t enact a broad camping ban, but can limit when, where and how people are allowed to camp if an individual camper can access shelter. This could mean restricting daytime camping, length of stay, the areas people can camp, structure types, camp sizes and regulations around untidy campsites.

Bend’s only mechanism to evict a campsite requires certain benchmarks around fire hazards, trash, calls for police service and impeding roadways be met before the campsite can be declared unsafe and moved. The timeline the City Council approved expects a first draft in August, which then has a review process with stakeholders participating in a roundtable — replacing the working group — and a public community feedback meeting.

Codes could be finalized as early as October, though staff members said the timeline is optimistic and could change if more meetings are added as the process plays out. If the City appointed a work group like planned, its earliest implementation of the policy wouldn’t take place until December.

A standing work session on managed camp codes is expected to be discussed at every City Council work session until it’s finished. The first open house Q&A is expected in August and a meeting seeking community feedback is expected in September.

Efficient Electricity?

The City of Bend invites locals to weigh in on a home energy score system for houses on the market

By Jack Harvel

Bend is hosting a community Q&A on its potential Home Energy Score Program, which the City’s Community Climate Action Plan listed as a priority in its efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Bend by 40% by 2030 and 70% by 2050.

The program requires that all homes listed for sale obtain a home energy score, a U.S. Department of Energy tool that ranks the efficiency of residences on a scale of 1-10. The score seeks to strip occupant behavior from the equation and focus strictly on efficiency.

It typically costs between $150-300, but if the program is implemented, some assistance would be available for sellers who’ve been deemed eligible for other low-income assistance programs offered by the City. All home sellers or their realtors would be required to share the energy scorecard with potential buyers.

The City hopes knowing what specifically may be draining energy could encourage home improvements, as well as giving someone buying a home information they would otherwise not be aware of. Other Oregon municipalities, including Portland, Hillsboro and Milwaukie, have already implemented a mandatory home energy score program.

Bend’s Q&A on the program will be hosted on Aug. 1 at 3pm, in the Council Chambers at City Hall. It will be a hybrid meeting, with people able to give input in-person, over video conferencing or by emailing senior management analyst Cassie Lacy at clacy@bendoregon.gov.

Noticias en Español Sin poder soportar el calor

El Centro de Oregon batalla con temperaturas de seis dígitos, con temperaturas promedio de más de 100 grados durante toda la semana

Por / By Jack Harvel Translated by/ Traducido por Jéssica Sánchez-Millar

Se proyectó que el Centro de Oregon pasaría varios días con temperaturas altas, sobrepasando los 100 grados Fahrenheit de martes a sábado. Con la cúpula de calor del año pasado, los gobiernos locales están exhortando a la gente a tomar precauciones.

La cúpula de calor fatal del año pasado fue la temporada de calor más mortal en la historia de Canadá, matando a más de 800 personas en el oeste de Canadá y siendo responsable por la muerte de casi 200 personas en Washington y Oregon. La mayoría de las muertes en Oregon se presentaron en el condado de Multnomah, pero dos habitantes de Bend que se encontraban sin hogar también fallecieron debido al calor.

Aún así, con las temperaturas altas en un momento previsto, autoridades esperan que la zona no llegue a tal extremo este año. “El año pasado se registraron temperaturas récord a finales de junio. Generalmente, vemos las temperaturas más altas en julio o a finales de agosto, así que estamos viendo que no hace tanto calor como el año pasado,” dijo Jim Smith, meteorólogo del Servicio Meteorológico Nacional en Pendleton.

La temperatura más alta registrada en Oregon se presentó el año pasado durante la ola de calor, cuando alcanzó los 119 grados al norte de Madras. Se espera que la ola de calor de esta semana ande alrededor de los 105 grados durante el día. Se piensa que durante la noche refrescará muy poco.

“Es importante tener en cuenta que las temperaturas por la noche no son tan buenas comparado a lo normal. Las bajas temperaturas son tan solo de 60 grados y tal vez alrededor de los 70 grados la noche del miércoles y jueves, así que no se pondrá tan fresco, dijo Smith.

Las personas mayores que vivían solas, la gente en centros habitacionales multifamiliares y las personas sin hogar murieron desproporcionadamente y fueron hospitalizadas el año pasado debido al calor. El condado de Deschutes exhorto a la gente a que esté al pendiente de sus vecinos ancianos y de sus familiares un par de veces al día. Las organizaciones sin fines de lucro locales especializadas en las personas sin hogar están teniendo albergues para mantener frescas a las personas.

En Bend, el albergue de Shepherd’s House en la calle 2 (Second Street) está abierto de 11am-6pm hasta el día viernes. Mosanic Hall, localizado sobre la calle 8, está abierto de 9am a 1pm y una carpa se encuentra disponible sobre la calle Hunnell Rd. En Redmond, Shepherd’s House también permitirá que la gente se refresque dentro de la iglesia Grace Gate y una carpa estará ubicada sobre la calle 17. “Cuando hace mucho calor, vemos un aumento en el número de personas que requieren de nuestros servicios,” dijo David Notari, Director de Desarrollo de los Ministerios de Shepherd’s House. “Hemos visto que durante los últimos 8 años o más hemos albergado a gente durante el invierno y que en algunas ocasiones especiales durante los veranos hemos abierto el albergue para proteger a la gente del calor.”