Nine counties now face severe to extreme drought after Gov. John Kitzhaber declared drought emergencies in Grant, Josephine and Wheeler. The counties in drought — Crook, Harney, Jackson, Klamath, Lake and Malheur — cover about a third of the state.
The Statesman Journal reports nine percent of the state is in extreme drought while about 46 percent of Oregon is experiencing severe drought before the official start to summer.
County commissioners submit drought emergency declarations to the state government, which if approved, give the counties assistance in managing limited water supplies. Federal drought relief legislation has some emergency provisions and offers $300 million to assist affected areas.
Oregon counties started filing drought emergency declarations back in February after a unseasonably dry winter.
Northwest Oregon received record rainfall in March, but the rest of the state wasn’t so lucky. And May didn’t turn things around: Last month showed decent precipitation, but not enough to tip the balance.
On Wednesday, the Oregon Department of Forestry will brief the state on the 2014 fire season outlook and readiness report.
Copyright 2014 Oregon Public Broadcasting
