Story by Rodger Nichols for Gorge Country Media
Wasco County Commissioners approved a recommendation to lift the burn ban in the county, effective just after midnight tonight. Commission Chair Scott Hege made the announcement:
“Termination of fire season – effective 12:01, October 17, 2025. Fire season requirements for industrial operations are no longer in place. Permits may be required for backyard debris burning; permits are required year round for the burning of slash resulting from forest harvesting procedures. It does not apply to people within the cities.”
And there were a couple of items relating to the Rowena Fire. Wasco County Assessor Jill Amery, who lives in Rowena, emphasized that the portion of Highway 30 that runs through Rowena is closed to the public during cleanup operations.
“There are signs out there that say ‘Local Residents Only.’ There’s not a lot of room to turn around sometimes where they close the road. We’re seeing building materials being delivered with big trucks, a lot of trucks and trailers trying to clean up their debris. So I think we’re seeing people either not knowing that we’re still in cleanup and the road is closed to residents only or just not heeding those.”
Right now the county is working to finalize an intergovernmental agreement with the State of Oregon on the Rowena Fire cleanup. And the county also has to work with the Bureau of Labor and Industries, with the Department of Environmental Quality and with the local contractor to define a scope of work.They’re asking residents who did lose their homes during the fire to make sure they have a case manager, who can help guide them through all the hoops they need to jump through in the process.For instance, they may have earlier signed right of access permissions for crews to remove hazardous waste, but they will need to sign a new round of forms for the next stage of cleanup. Rowena Fire victims who do not yet have a case manager are urged to contact Mid-Columbia Community Action Council or to call 541-298-5731.
And garbage rates are going up in the county,
but the increase is fairly painless. Jim Winterbottom of The Dalles Disposal explained that the company is asking for 85 percent of the consumer price index. That index went up 3.04 percent this year, so the rates will go up just 2.58 percent. And that translates into just a few cents a month.
“We are sensitive to rate increases. Nobody likes it. That’s why I come before you annually to as for the 85 percent of the CPI, a 2.58 percent increase. If you’re living in what we call the rural area of Wasco County, and have a 32-gallon can, you’re currently paying $26.18 a month. The increase would e 68 cents per month, or 16 cents per pickup.”
The cities in Wasco county will hold their own rate increase hearing in the coming weeks. Those increases will take effect January 1st.