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A bill to protect thousands of acres and miles of river in Oregon passed out of a key US Senate committee last week.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is testing out a new alert system this week. If you use a cell phone, you should expect a “Presidential Alert” message Wednesday morning.

Oregon US Senator Ron Wyden says the sexual assault allegations against U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh deserve a “credible and serious” process of investigation.

Oregon US Senator Ron Wyden is not interested in bailing out the pharmaceutical industry. The Democrat is expressing concern about a last minute change to a package of 70 bipartisan bills passed earlier this month to address the nation’s growing opioid crisis.

Both Pac-12 Football match ups in the South Willamette Valley resulted in losses for the home teams on Saturday.

Springfield Police and EMS personnel have issued a public safety alert after responding to four suspected heroin overdoses in six hours on Saturday. An additional overdose was reported after a person was dropped off at the emergency room at McKenzie Willamette Hospital on Saturday evening.

U.S Forest Service officials have begun surveying the damage caused to the Terwilliger Hot Springs as a result of the Terwilliger Fire that began on August 19th.

Tensions are building among law enforcement in the fight over Oregon’s sanctuary law, which voters could decide to repeal in November, and lawmakers are weighing in.

I-5 is now open near the Oregon-California border.

Officials with the Douglas Forest Protective Association have determined the cause of several fires that began on Friday evening along Interstate 5 at milepost 163 near Curtin was a failed catalytic converter from a passing vehicle. The six fires burned a combined total of approximately 97 acres.

UPDATE: As of 7:10 pm Monday (9/3), the Terwilliger Fire 60 miles east of Eugene-Springfield continues to burn in rugged terrain.

Multiple fire agencies responded to several fires along I-5 near Curtin on Friday evening. Six fires were reported to be burning between milepost 162 and milepost 165 northbound at around 6:00pm Friday.

Air attacks on the Terwilliger Fire burning east and west of the Cougar Reservoir were suspended Sunday after an unmanned aircraft system, or “drone”, was detected over the fire, violating a temporary flight restriction.

A new fire was reported on the Willamette National Forest near Terwilliger Hot Springs on Sunday.

The Roseburg Fire Department responded to a brush fire on a hillside near downtown Roseburg on Monday evening.

More than 100 firefighters are working on the Silver Creek fire east of Salem in Silver Falls State Park. The fire, reported on July 12th, forced the evacuation of a YMCA youth camp on Friday, and has closed some backcounty trails. The fire is currently estimated at 27 acres and continues to burn in in remote, steep, timbered terrain in the Howard Creek drainage.

Firefighters are working on a fire east of Salem in Silver Falls State Park that forced the evacuation of a YMCA youth camp and has closed some backcounty trails. The fire is currently estimated at 10 acres and is burning in remote, steep, timbered terrain.

The Eugene-Springfield Fire Department and Eugene Police Department are reminding residents that while fireworks are a traditional way to celebrate the Independence Day holiday, they can be bothersome and they pose an extreme fire hazard.

With conditions becoming drier and warmer, the Oregon Department of Forestry has declared fire restrictions are now in effect for the West Lane District.  While industrial operators have had some restrictions imposed on them since June 21, the public has remained unrestricted until now.