Local, state and federal agencies are preparing for the worst this August, as peak fire season coincides with one of the biggest tourism events Oregon has ever seen. The 2017 total solar eclipse - an event that won't return to Oregon until 2169 - is coming on Aug. 21, typically a dangerous time for wildfires.
- PUB DATE: 7/7/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Oregonian

Jay Redmond said it was the longest minute and a half in his life. Redmond is a captain in the Concord Fire Department, and those 90 seconds happened while he was on duty in the early morning of Jan. 4. Redmond used the department's radio system that night to contact three firefighters in the West Concord Fire Station, and when there was no answer, he was concerned.
- PUB DATE: 7/7/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Concord.WickedLocal.com

PHOTOS - A massive four-alarm fire broke out early Friday at a huge apartment complex under construction in Oakland, engulfing the six-story, mixed-use building and raising concerns about a teetering crane that appears to be on the verge of collapsing. Crews responded when the fire broke out around 4:30 a.
- PUB DATE: 7/7/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: East Bay Times

A wildfire in Yakima County grew to at about 2,500 acres on Thursday. The Rattlesnake Hills Fire started on Wednesday at about 10:48 p.m., according to Deputy State Fire Marshal John Wabel. It is burning near Moxee, which is about eight miles southeast of Yakima. The fire is 0 percent contained. The grass and brush fire is threatening homes, crops, and communications infrastructure.
- PUB DATE: 7/6/2017 11:55:38 PM - SOURCE: KING 5

The official report isn’t likely to hit their desks until early August, but city officials say they saw enough this past week to pass judgment on Vancouver’s new, controversial ban on fireworks. “A couple years from now, no one will think about it,” said City Councilor Ty Stober. Stober and other members of the council said they were generally happy with the fireworks ban they unanimously passed in October 2015 that took effect this year.
- PUB DATE: 7/6/2017 10:48:08 PM - SOURCE: Vancouver Columbian