From a story in
Willamette Week:
State Rep. Mark Owens (R-Crane) can see the fires from his front porch.
This summer, the Big Grass, Coleman Creek, and Second Flat fires tore across southeast Oregon, all three of them megafires (covering greater than 100,000 acres), in the biggest wildfire summer in recorded state history. On the worst days, the air quality index near Owens’ alfalfa fields in Harney County hits 540. He checks the weather every morning like any farmer. Lately, that means checking smoke.
Owens has represented House District 60 in southeastern Oregon since 2020. His district contains more acres than the state of Indiana: Malheur, Harney, Lake, Baker, and Grant counties, plus part of Deschutes. It is easily the most fire-exposed legislative district in Oregon, if not the nation. It’s also alfalfa and cattle country.
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