Gov. Kate Brown has appointed a financial oversight team and will hire an independent contractor to address a cash flow crisis caused by the Oregon Department of Forestry’s failure to promptly bill and collect money it is owed for wildfire costs. The 13-member team, chaired by the governor’s chief of staff, is tasked with identifying the structural changes needed to expedite and standardize how the agency processes financial transactions related to wildfires.
- PUB DATE: 10/22/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Portland Oregonian, Hillsboro Argus, Oregon Live.com

Officials are urging residents throughout the San Diego region’s most fire-prone areas to prepare for this year’s peak wildfire season. The county is slated to mail out its “personal disaster plan” to roughly 200,000 homes and businesses starting next week. The recently updated 16-page document will be sent to those living in areas designated by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection as “very-high fire severity zones.
- PUB DATE: 10/22/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The San Diego Union Tribune - Metered Site

Firefighters kept a blaze from destroying a house south of Bellingham Saturday afternoon, but the fire serves as a reminder of the importance of keeping a clothes dryer properly cleaned. South Whatcom Fire Authority and Bellingham Fire Department crews responded to the 900 block of Bass Street at 1:05 p.
- PUB DATE: 10/22/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Bellingham Herald

This past week, 23 firefighters from North Whidbey Fire and Rescue traveled from Oak Harbor to Renton to render honors to Chief Tim Lemon, who died Sept. 17 from cancer. North Whidbey Fire personnel traveled to the ceremony in three pieces of fire apparatus and a chartered bus for the memorial service that was held at the New Life Church in Renton.
- PUB DATE: 10/21/2019 1:01:15 PM - SOURCE: Whidbey News-Times

Pasco firefighters were on the scene of a vehicle fire on Monday morning. The 2001 Chevy Impala caught on fire around 6:40 a.m. on West Argent Road near the US-395 off-ramp. Pasco firefighters were able to quickly put out the fire, and the driver and passenger were able to escape without injuries. Public Information Officer Ben Shearer tells KAPP-KVEW Local News the cause of the fire is under investigation, but vehicle fires are common around this time of year because cold temperatures require engines to work harder.
- PUB DATE: 10/21/2019 9:55:31 AM - SOURCE: YakTriNews