Cal Fire Gets Florence Support
The Eaton Fire, just north of Pasadena in Southern California, has grown to more than 14-thousand acres and as of 3:00 Tuesday afternoon was only 35% contained. There are also nearly 20-thousand firefighters and California National Guard members fighting the blaze, utilizing more than15-hundred pieces of apparatus. Some of those resources are from the Florence area.
“We sent two water tenders and each of the water tenders has two firefighters with them, so a total of two apparatus and four firefighters.”
Chief Michael Schick with Western Lane Fire and EMS says the deployment of local firefighters to a large blaze nearly 900 miles away won’t leave the community unprotected.
“That’s the first thing we look at to make sure that we have enough apparatus to protect our community and enough people. We get reimbursed for backfill for overtime, we get reimbursement for using our vehicles down there. So, no cost to our agency which is nice.”
Schick says they’ll be on the job for up to two weeks. Right now, they’re working 12-hour night shifts, part of at least two task forces from fire departments in Oregon as part of a “mutual aid” agreement.
“There’s not a single department in the country that can do it all by themselves. You have to have help. If we had the same type of incident here we would get help from all over the state and other states. We’re prepared to help them and I’m sure they would help us in need also.”
Since it started January 7th, the Eaton Fire has destroyed or damaged more than 3-thousand structures and threatens nearly 40 thousand more. It has caused 15 fatalities to date. The cause of the blaze is under investigation.
Youth Mental Health
The Bipartisan Policy Center has released a new report on reforming the way youth mental health services are delivered, in Oregon and nationwide. Research from 2024 puts Oregon among the three states with the highest rates of mental illness in youth combined with the least access to care. Recommendations from the Youth Mental Health and Substance Abuse Task Force include the need to grow the behavioral health workforce nationally and make it easier for providers to join insurance networks. Michele Gazda with the Bipartisan Policy Center shares the thought process behind the recommendations.
“The things that work for adults getting into care may or not work the same for kids and their families. So, part of what the task force set out to do is make sure that the recommendations were very actionable, that they can be achieved.”
The report recommends that Congress fund grants of up to two-million dollars over three years to create ten regional centers focused on building the behavioral health workforce.
Gas Prices
Gas prices are holding steady this week despite a surge in crude oil prices to their highest levels since August. New U.S. sanctions on Russian oil producers and the blacklisting of tankers allegedly part of a Russian shadow fleet are fueling concerns about global supply issues. Nationally, regular gas averages $3.07 a gallon, while Oregon’s average increased by one cent to $3.47. Florence prices match the national average at $3.07. According to Marie Dodds with AAA Oregon, seasonal low demand is keeping prices stable for now, but refinery maintenance and other factors could drive increases in the weeks ahead.
Planning Commission
At last night’s Florence Planning commission meeting concerns were addressed about the changing of the comprehensive plan to allow for residential units to be constructed on the property at 1150 Bay street, site of the old Lotus Restaurant. Concern arose about the property being in the flood and tsunami zone and whether approval of the change would pass state approval given that the state restricts building in hazard zones. The commission looked at two proposals, one recommending a change in the comprehensive plan to a Residential Development Shoreland Management and another application for a Zoning Text Amendment to Old Town Area A to add multi-unit, single unit attached and detached, duplex, tri-plex, and four-plex development as exclusively permitted uses for properties within a specific distance from residential zoning. The commission recommended moving forward on the first item, approving the recommendation unanimously, however the second resolution, PC 24 41 TA 02 was extended to the March 11th meeting to allow more information to be ascertained.
