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Saturday, February 7 at 7:00 p.m. Vicki’s Backdoor Club
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SERVING WASHINGTON’S
OKANOGAN VALLEY
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County officials testify on fire in Olympia
DID YOU MISS YOUR HOMETOWN?
Rep. Joel Kretz proposes changes THE GAZETTE-TRIBUNE
OLYMPIA Members from the Carlton Complex Fire Recovery Group and Okanogan County officials traveled to Olympia Thursday to discuss the Carlton Complex Fire that burned more than 256,000 acres and destroyed more than 400 structures. The entire two-hour meeting of the House Ag r i c u ltu re and Natural Resources C o m m i t t e e Rep. Joel Kretz was dedicated to reviewing challenges and lessons learned from the fire. First, the state Department of Natural Resources presented the agency’s work in responding to the fire. Jim DeTro, Ray Campbell and Jon Wyss from Okanogan County testified about the fire response. They presented evidence of the problems with mismanagement and lack of communication. “Indecision in initial stages led to incredible losses suffered last summer,” County Commissioner DeTro said. “Lack of awareness regarding the resources available and their location resulted in delayed responses and ineffective deployment. We’re asking for authorization in statute directing that local emergency response plan contains procedures for wildfire response in the crucial first hours following discovery [of a wildfire].” Fellow County Commissioner Campbell shared how local smokejumpers were sent to a fire in Oregon and flew over one of the smaller fires that ended up
Gary DeVon/staff photos
John and Becky DesJardins are known to take time off in the winter, this year they didn’t head for warmer weather. Instead they closed Hometown Pizza and Pasta and reopened as a restaurant with a different spin on things. It’s something they’ve been wanting to do for quite a long time and John is a baker at heart. While you can still pick up a pizza pie, you can now get other types of pies and a wide selection of baked goods as Hometown now offers a full service bakery. The pasta items are gone, but now they’re offering breakfast sandwiches. Hometown’s hours have changed -- they will be open 8 a.m.-8 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Customers can dine in from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. and after 3 p.m. only takeout will be available.
joining the Carlton Complex Fire. “Those smokejumpers should have been deployed right there in their backyard,” Campbell said. “Within the valley, we had numerous contract firefighters, and we had plenty that didn’t get deployed.” Wyss talked about the agriculturalists, foresters, environmentalists, tourists and economy that make up Okanogan County. “Right here, the decisions we make today, will decide it all. Are we going to continue with the policies that are allowing these large fires, or are we going to provide new direction and ensure a future for our county and state?” Wyss, with Gebbers Farms, said. “It all starts with you, the elected officials who have oversight and can propose legislation, to ensure this type of fire doesn’t happen again.” Later in the hearing, Carlene Anders, executive director of the Carlton Complex Recovery Group, shared her experiences as a volunteer firefighter from Pateros. “Firefighting has changed from the time I started until now. I felt safer 20 years ago than I did in this situation. If it weren’t for the gumption of the local people, we would have had people die in this fire. It is so important to fight fires aggressively, and if we don’t, then we put more firefighters in danger,” Anders said. Rep. Joel Kretz, R-Wauconda, was given time during the hearing to share photos he took while fighting the fire with locals. Many of the photos showed agency representatives driving away from the fire while other photos showed the constant work of
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First cases of bird flu found in county Sites near Riverside and Oroville under quarantine BY GARY A. DE VON EDITOR@GAZETTE-TRIBUNE.COM
OROVILLE – A second flock of backyard poultry, this time near Oroville, was found to be infected with avian influenza, or bird flu last week and a six mile radius has been put under quarantine restrictions, according to the state Department of Agriculture. The first cases in Okanogan County were discovered in late January. Forty pheasants and a dozen turkeys from game flock of about about 5000 birds in the Riverside area had contracted avian influenza. The birds in Riverside were tested and confirmed positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza on Tuesday, Jan. 27. The specific strain of avian influenza has not yet been identified, according to Hector Castro, with the WSDA. On Thursday, Jan. 29, a team of veterinarians from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and WSDA began assessing the area for poultry flocks and contacting bird owners in the immediate vicinity of
the infected flock. The WSDA, USDA additional tests will be needed to identify and Okanogan County Public health the specific strain, according to Castro. are working with the flock owners in This second infected flock consists of developing a response plan to this latest about 100 birds, with at least half already report, he said. succumbing to the disease. This site of the Riverside flock is under Currently, WSDA has a third avian quarantine and no influenza quarantine birds are being moved zone in place in Clallam from the property. As County, a response to “None of the bird flu recently as November, an infected flock disin Washington State is covered there. Tests on the flock owners had their birds tested and, from flocks in the associated with human birds at that time, they surrounding area have illness,” said Hector showed no sign of all come back negative avian influenza in the for avian influenza. Castro, Washington flock. Because migratory On Sunday, Feb. 1 wild waterfowl popuState Department of the WSDA adopted lations can carry the Agriculture. an emergency rule disease, including the Hector Castro, to establish a second highly-pathogenic quarantine zone in Washington State Dept. of Agriculture strains of avian influenOkanogan County, za (H5N2 and H5N8), covering an area of WSDA is encouraging roughly six miles bird owners to protect around a site in Oroville where avian their domestic birds from contact with influenza was confirmed in a flock of wild waterfowl and remain vigilant in mixed poultry and other birds. their biosecurity measures. The quarantine restricts the movement There is no immediate public health of eggs, poultry or poultry products out concern due to the avian influenza virus of the identified zone with exemptions detected, however public health officials made for operations that obtain spe- routinely contact owners of infected cial permits and meet specific criteria. flocks as a precaution. Avian influenza WSDA received test results on Saturday, does not affect poultry meat or egg prodJan. 31 that found the flock was infected ucts, which remain safe to eat. As always, with the avian influenza virus, though both wild and domestic poultry should
OKANOGAN VALLEY GAZETTE-TRIBUNE Volume 111 No. 06
be properly cooked, advises the WSDA. Other outbreaks of the avian flu have been reported in Benton and Franklin counties, but involved much smaller numbers of poultry. WSDA continues to advise commercial poultry growers and backyard flock owners to be vigilant with biosecurity measures. This should include limiting contact between your birds and wild birds, especially waterfowl. “We are wrapping up work in Benton and Franklin Counties where the infected flock was very near the border of two counties.... we lifted the quarantine after three weeks,” Castro said. WSDA has determined that the avian influenza detected in the two Benton County backyard flocks in December does not appear to have spread beyond those two sites. To reach this conclusion, a team of veterinarians with the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and WSDA visited approximately 1,800 premises in the quarantine area and tested samples from birds at more than 70 locations. All samples tested negative for avian influenza. As a result of this action and lifting of the quarantine, there are no longer restrictions on the movement of poultry or poultry products within the areas of Benton or Franklin counties. Such restrictions remain in place in parts of Clallam County after a flock was confirmed infected with the H5N2 avian
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influenza virus on Jan. 16. Three strains of avian influenza have now been detected in Washington state: H5N8 – found in a falcon fed wild duck H5N2 – detected in a wild duck in Whatcom County, in two backyard flocks in Benton County, and in a backyard flock in Clallam County. H5N1 – detected in a wild duck in Whatcom County “None of the bird flu in Washington State is associated with human illness,” said Castro. The sub-type of the H5N1 virus detected in Whatcom County is genetically different from the virus with the same designation that has circulated in Europe and Asia in recent years. The Eurasian H5N1 has infected people. To date, there have been no cases in the United States of humans becoming ill from any of these viruses. Deaths or illness among domestic birds should be reported to the WSDA Avian Health Program at 1-800-6063056. While the risk to the public is low, it is not zero. People with known close contact with infected birds, including owners of infected flocks, will be contacted by public health officials as a precautionary measure.
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