Drought in Southern Oregon: A New Normal

Barbara Cervone, February 16th 20202, from her blog

The view of the Rogue Valley from Grizzly Peak, a spot named for the last known grizzly bear in Oregon, is nothing short of amazing. The Siskiyou Mountains flank one side, the Cascades the other, Mount Shasta looms in the distance, and rolling grasslands descend to the valley floor. As the crow flies, it’s roughly seven miles from there to where we live.

A few days ago, as Tony and I skirted the peak on our return from a quick visit to Bend, Oregon—following the winding and disgracefully named Dead Indian Memorial Road—the sweeping views offered something we hadn’t expected: a large plume of smoke rising from the forest behind our house.

Had fire season already begun?