Douglas became the first county west of the Cascades declared under a drought emergency after an executive order signed by Gov.
Kate Brown Thursday.
Baker County was also declared under a drought emergency last week following low rainfall and snowpack levels across the state.
“All signs point to another record-breaking drought and wildfire season for Oregon,” Brown said in a prepared statement.
“That means we must continue our urgent work to build communities that are ready for the challenges of climate change.
I have directed state agencies stand ready to help and work with local communities to provide assistance."
Earlier this month, Douglas County Commissioners declared a drought emergency citing, in part, low water levels at the Galesville and Berry Creek Dams.
In an earlier interview with The News-Review, Douglas Forest Protective Association spokesman Kyle Reed said this year’s fire season isn’t looking positive; the region is 12 inches behind on rainfall, and didn’t get the same snowpack it had last year.
The National Weather Service in Medford reports Douglas County is expected to receive above-average temperatures and below-average rainfall over the summer months.
Drought emergencies are already in effect in Klamath, Grant, Harney and Lake counties.

SALEM, Ore. – Gov.
Kate Brown announced Monday a drought emergency for Baker and Douglas counties due to low snowpack and precipitation, low streamflows and warming temperatures as Oregon braces for the upcoming wildfire season.
As drought conditions intensify throughout the state, Douglas County becomes the first region west of the Cascades to receive a drought declaration.
Drought emergencies have already been declared in Klamath, Grant, Harney and Lake counties.
“All signs point to another record-breaking drought and wildfire season for Oregon,” Governor Kate Brown said.
“That means we must continue our urgent work to build communities that are ready for the challenges of climate change.
I have directed state agencies stand ready to help and work with local communities to provide assistance."
Oregon’s state agencies will continue to work with local governments and other partners to coordinate efforts and mobilize actions to address drought-related issues.
The Governor’s drought declaration authorizes state agencies to expedite water management tools to which users would not otherwise have access.
As state and local officials coordinate with federal partners, conditions will be closely monitored by the state’s natural resource and public safety agencies, including the Oregon Water Resources Department and the Oregon Office of Emergency Management.

The move came as a result of monitoring the water at the Galesville and Berry Creek Dams and conversations with the Douglas County watermaster, Douglas County Public Works Director Scott Adams told the commissioners.
The move was not entirely unexpected.
Watermaster Susan Douthit had suggested last week a drought declaration might be in the offing.
Precipitation was low overall last winter, and May was unusually dry, with .27 inches of rain, about 2 inches below normal.
And it doesn’t look like water levels will improve this summer.
The National Weather Service in Medford reports Douglas County is expected to receive above-average temperatures and below-average rainfall over the summer months.
The county drought emergency was passed on a unanimous vote by the commissioners.
It will next go to the governor’s office for an official drought declaration.
The drought declaration follows on the heels of an announcement by the Douglas Forest Protective Association that fire season will begin Friday.
DFPA is anticipating a bad fire season, and the Northwest Interagency Coordination Center is redicting elevated fire risk in July.

Just how long interim funding will play a central role in responding to water issues depends on implementing long-term solutions to contamination and groundwater depletion.
But the lingering impact of the drought, especially on groundwater supplies, means some still rely on emergency water tanks while they wait for long-term solutions.
This is particularly true in the San Joaquin Valley, where more than 300 domestic well users whose taps have run dry continue to use tanks provided by the state through a program originally slated to end in June.
With the help of emergency funding requested by Assembly member Joaquin Arambula (D-Kingsberg), whose largely rural district is in the valley, the emergency water supply program will likely continue another year at a cost of $3.5 million.
Also included in the emergency relief efforts is $10 million to address failing domestic wells and septic tanks, and $10 million for the Drinking Water for Schools Program that funds treatment solutions for schools that struggle with contamination.
That number does not include people who rely on domestic wells.
In the interim the state is also pushing consolidation, where those with failed wells or unsafe septic systems are connected to nearby systems in working order.
A University of California, Davis study found that two-thirds of residents in disadvantaged San Joaquin Valley communities without safe drinking water lived within a mile of a system meeting clean water requirements.
The fund is included in Governor Jerry Brown’s budget as a trailer bill, and may undergo changes before the final budget faces a vote.
Which means emergency water needs could still require short-term funding solutions, such as those in Arambula’s request.

Just how long interim funding will play a central role in responding to water issues depends on implementing long-term solutions to contamination and groundwater depletion.
But the lingering impact of the drought, especially on groundwater supplies, means some still rely on emergency water tanks while they wait for long-term solutions.
This is particularly true in the San Joaquin Valley, where more than 300 domestic well users whose taps have run dry continue to use tanks provided by the state through a program originally slated to end in June.
With the help of emergency funding requested by Assembly member Joaquin Arambula (D-Kingsberg), whose largely rural district is in the valley, the emergency water supply program will likely continue another year at a cost of $3.5 million.
Also included in the emergency relief efforts is $10 million to address failing domestic wells and septic tanks, and $10 million for the Drinking Water for Schools Program that funds treatment solutions for schools that struggle with contamination.
That number does not include people who rely on domestic wells.
In the interim the state is also pushing consolidation, where those with failed wells or unsafe septic systems are connected to nearby systems in working order.
A University of California, Davis study found that two-thirds of residents in disadvantaged San Joaquin Valley communities without safe drinking water lived within a mile of a system meeting clean water requirements.
The fund is included in Governor Jerry Brown’s budget as a trailer bill, and may undergo changes before the final budget faces a vote.
Which means emergency water needs could still require short-term funding solutions, such as those in Arambula’s request.

Linn and Benton county residents erroneously received a message about contaminated tap water meant for the Salem area on Tuesday night.
Grocery store representatives said that Salem-area residents surged into Linn and Benton counties after Marion County supermarkets and other businesses ran out of bottled water.
Albany and Corvallis locals also stocked up on emergency supplies in the wake of the emergency notice.
Some, such as Juana Francisco of Albany, worried that the local tap water could still be contaminated due to the vague nature of the emergency notification and subsequent clarifications.
She bought seven bottled cases of water at the Albany WinCo, which ran out of most bottled water products at about 9:30 p.m. “It’s crazy in there,” she said.
Kevin Higgins, emergency services program manager for the Benton County Sheriff’s Office, said that the emergency notification mix-up may have provided a valuable lesson for locals.
If you don’t have supplies such as water and food beforehand, it could be difficult to get them after emergency such as a major earthquake, Higgins said.
“This is a perfect example of why we want to be prepared,” he said.
“This is kind of what we preach when we give presentations.” Higgins added that residents should have three weeks of supplies at their households, and that includes a gallon of drinking water per day for every person who lives in the home.

SALEM, Ore. – Governor Kate Brown announced a drought emergency for Harney County Thursday due to low snowpack and precipitation, low streamflows and warming temperatures as Oregon braces for the upcoming wildfire season.
Forecast water conditions are not expected to improve, and drought is likely to have significant impacts on agriculture, livestock, natural resources and the local economy, the governor’s office said in a news release.
Harney County officials requested the state to take action on May 14, and the Oregon Drought Council considered the counties’ requests by weighing current water conditions, future climatic forecasts, and agricultural impacts.
“Oregon has already experienced hotter and dryer than usual conditions, and drought conditions in Harney County are expected to worsen in the months ahead,” Brown said.
“To minimize the impacts of drought on the local economy and community, I’m directing state agencies to work with local and federal partners to provide assistance to Harney County.” The governor’s drought declaration allows increased flexibility in how water is managed to ensure that limited supplies are used as efficiently as possible.
Oregon’s state agencies will continue to work with local governments and other partners to coordinate efforts and mobilize actions to address drought-related issues.
The governor’s drought declaration authorizes state agencies to expedite water management tools to which users would not otherwise have access.
As state and local officials coordinate with federal partners, conditions will be closely monitored by the state’s natural resource and public safety agencies, including the Oregon Water Resources Department and the Oregon Office of Emergency Management.
Drought emergencies have also been declared in Klamath and Grant counties.

A big portion of the City of Danbury is under a water emergency due to a water main break on Tamarack Avenue earlier this morning.
The break, which occurred early Tuesday morning on Tamarack Avenue and Hayestown Road, is affecting thousands of residents in the area, has closed Broadview Middle School and Henry Abbott Tech, and is affecting the water supply to Danbury Hospital.
Mayor Mark Boughton was one of the first to report the break on his Facebook page: According to newstimes.com, it was a severe break of a 16-inch water main that’s causing all the trouble.
The City of Danbury Public Works Department is on the scene working on the problem, and because of the work, and the road closures, access to Danbury Hospital is limited.
Danbury Hospital is also affected by the water main break, and certain outpatient services may be rescheduled as the Hospital is operating with a limited water supply.
Residents of the area who are experiencing low water pressure are now under a "Boil Water Advisory", which means you should not drink the water unless you boil it first.
According to the City of Danbury, there’s no word yet on when the break will be fixed and water will be restored.
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State attorneys argued the relief Bryant sought wasn’t warranted partly because the city of Flint is in compliance with the federal Lead and Copper Rule.
"He further stated he intended to abandon the home, which was damaged due to a pipe that had burst," the state’s response to the lawsuit stated, a point that was debated in court on Friday, with Bryant’s attorney arguing his client does want to return to his home but it’s not safe to do so because of lead in the water.
Teams of attorneys for both the state defendants and Bryant appeared in court on Friday, along with Flint city attorneys.
He argued the state hasn’t done enough to address the Flint water crisis to warrant discontinuing bottled water distribution.
Defending his client, Shkolnik said Bryant left his home to care for his mother, who has since died, and his intention was always to move back to his home on Oren Avenue eventually.
At that point in the hearing, the judge decided to get Bryant on the phone.
He seemed to indicate he didn’t trust that simply installing a filter was going to solve his water problems.
The state’s decision to discontinue bottled water came after testing under the Lead and Copper Rule showed Flint’s 90th-percentile lead levels were at 4 ppb in sampling this year.
He argued the state should have to pay for bottled water for them until the problem is fixed.
The judge offered to give the state attorneys Bryant’s phone number to try to make that happen.

A few weeks earlier, most of his playmates were infected and treated for cholera.
“In our village, we do not have water, hence, we fetch untreated water from the lake,” confessed Kalala’s father, Martin Ntoumba.
Contaminated water Ngandanjika and Kalambayi are currently the two health zones in Lomami where most cholera deaths and confirmed cases are being reported.
The only market—located in Matamba, in the Kanda-Kanda health zone—which is visited by nearly 5,000 people on a weekly basis, has neither water points nor toilets.
“In rural areas where the epidemic has found a fertile ground due to acute water shortages and poor sanitation practices, people hardly differentiate between safe water and contaminated water,” said Malick Faye, IFRC Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Regional Disaster Response Team member (RDRT).
“Beyond these realities and constraints, the wells from which communities fetch water are unprotected and, in a context where open defecation is common, the water points are easily contaminated by human waste,” he added.
The burden of providing water to families rests with women who are often helped by their children.
Red Cross volunteers promote safe practices With many communities in DRC having no access to clean drinking water, hygiene and sanitation, disseminating messages of good practices on cholera prevention techniques remains central to an effective response.
Between January and March 2018, the DRC Red Cross was at the forefront, providing lifesaving sensitization messages on cholera, reaching 213,329 people with safe practices in water, sanitation and hygiene in five health zones of the Lomami province, namely Kabinda, Kanda-Kanda, Kamiji, Ngandanjika and Kalambayi.
“We deployed 192 volunteers in affected health zones to spread awareness messages around cholera, and ensure communities are safe, with communities in remote areas being our main target,” said Joseph Kanyinda, vice-president of the Mwene-Ditu Red Cross Branch.