Drought

A dry summer, after previous drought years, has led to irrigation water in the Rogue Valley being turned off for at least two weeks.

The drought in Northern California, combined with agricultural water use, is shrinking the Shasta River, according to a conservation group in Siskiyou County.

When Rep. Cliff Bentz visited Klamath Falls Thursday, he brought promises of government aid for farmers who won't be getting irrigation water from the federal Klamath Project this season. And he urged irrigators to resist the temptation to take matters into their own hands.

Tensions have been building in Klamath Falls in recent weeks over a drought that is devastating farmland, fish deemed sacred to native tribes, and wildlife. The Klamath Basin, along the Oregon-California border, has a complex history. Drought and fights over water aren’t new.

Temperatures climbed into the mid-90s in Portland and the Willamette Valley on Tuesday, and could be up to 105 in parts of Eastern Oregon Wednesday. With wind and thunderstorms forecast for South Central Oregon, officials are warning of potential fire danger.

A pair of Klamath Project irrigators and their supporters say they intend to break into federal property and open the controls that are preventing water from Upper Klamath Lake from going to farms and ranches.

The last 18 months have been among the driest and hottest on record in California, leading Gov. Gavin Newsom to declare a drought emergency in over 40 counties.

It’s bone dry from Spokane, near the Washington-Idaho border, clear to Harney County in Southern Oregon, with triple digit temps on the way even later this week for some parts of the Northwest.

Rural, low-income Latino communities across California were hardest hit by the last drought and could see drinking water shortages again this year, as extreme drought spreads across the state, according to a report released by non-partisan advisors to California’s lawmakers.

There’s not enough water to go around, as irrigators, tribes and fishermen all come up short.

For the first time since the federal Klamath water management project in Southern Oregon was opened in 1907, the main canal supplying water to irrigators will remain closed this season.

Pressured by growers and legislators, Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a drought emergency in 41 counties as most of California experiences severe drought. The order, which affects more than half of the state, will expedite water sales among growers while allowing state officials to keep reservoirs full and river fish protected.