News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
A couple of days of gentle, soaking rain aren't enough to snap a drought that has farmers worried about their crops and fire fighters scanning the skies for smoke.
"It sure helps alleviate the demand, but it doesn't really change the drought," said Deschutes County Watermaster Kyle Gorman.
The quarter-inch of rain that fell last week actually came at a bad time for hay growers, many of whom had hay down and raked or in bails. Moisture is not good for hay, quickly degrading its quality and marketability.
Joyce Burdick of Squaw Creek Irrigation District said that having some water on the ground is giving irrigators "a little breather" but it doesn't do much to make up for a reduction to 30 percent of water delivery.
That's what farmers are facing, with stream flows low and reservoirs practically empty.
The dry year is expected to take a toll on hay growers.
"I don't think anybody is going to get three cuttings this year," Burdick said.
That's likely to have a big impact on next year's hay prices. According to Burdick, some people fear that prices will creep above $200 per ton.
The rain is just a fleeting memory as far as firefighters are concerned.
"We're getting to the time of year where the sun comes out and the afternoon wind just wicks the moisture away," said Sisters Ranger District fire manager Mark Rapp. "The effects of any precipitation we get are short-lived."
Rapp was pleased enough to be headed into the Fourth of July holiday with a little moisture on the ground, but he emphasized that peak fire season precautions are still necessary.
And, he noted, fireworks of any kind are illegal on National Forest lands.
By mid-week, fire conditions were expected to be just as dangerous as they were before.
"Our guard's still up, for sure," Rapp said.
Their guard will stay up until winter. and Watermaster Gorman says it'll be next spring before we'll know if the drought is broken.
"We won't be out of the drought this summer," Gorman said. "It will take next winter's precip and snowpack to creep out of the drought ... hopefully."
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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