Gov. Kate Brown declares emergency in Klamath County as Oregon’s drought worsens

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown declared a state of emergency in Klamath County on Monday as southern Oregon faces another dry year in an ongoing drought that shows no sign of letting up. The declaration directs state agencies, including the Oregon Department of Agriculture, Oregon Water Resources Department and the Water Resources Commission, to provide assistance to water users in the region and to seek federal resources to help residents and wildlife. Snowpack in the Klamath Basin sat at just 60% of normal as of Monday, which prompted the governor to make the declaration. A map of snow water equivalent in various Oregon watersheds shows levels well below historic averages.

“It is already clear from snowpack and streamflow numbers: this will be another difficult year,” Brown said on Twitter. “I am committed to dedicating state resources to help.” Central and southern Oregon are entering a third consecutive year of drought, and the state saw its third driest period from October 2019 to September 2021 since records began in the late 1800s, according to Larry O’Neill, a climatologist at Oregon State University. Klamath County has been particularly hard hit. Some residents have seen wells run dry as groundwater recedes. There have also been contentious fights over how to allocate the water in Upper Klamath Lake, which is desperately needed by farmers, ranchers and two species of endangered fish that are cultural mainstays of Indigenous people in the region.

The county also was home to one of the largest wildfires in Oregon history last year. The Bootleg fire, north of Klamath Falls, burned more than 400,000 acres in the summer of 2021, fueled by strong winds and fuels on the ground that had become parched over two previous years of drought. Climate scientists have long said that drought and heightened wildfire risk will become more frequent and more severe as climate change continues to push global temperatures up.Many other watersheds east of the Cascades are seeing worrying water deficits heading into the dry season, and, while Klamath County was the first to see an emergency declaration, it is unlikely to be the last.There is some rain in the forecast, but like many of the storms that have brought precipitation to the Pacific Northwest over the last three years, it is unlikely to reach the east side of the state where it’s needed most.Written by Kale Williams; kwilliams@oregonian.com; 503-294-4048; @sfkale