PORTLAND, Ore (KPTV) – The state of Oregon is making strides to help accommodate people who are the most vulnerable to the heat.

The Oregon Health Authority said in the span of several months they’ve been able to distribute potentially lifesaving equipment to nearly one thousand people.

Over the past several years, OHA said the Pacific Northwest has been seeing weather like never before.

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“Oregon has recorded it’s hottest days in state history over the past five years,” said Dave Baden, OHA’s Deputy Director for Policy and Programs. “The climate models show the severity of heatwaves is likely to increase.”

Baden said OHA is trying a federal first for Oregon Health Plan members. He said Medicaid funds are being directed as a benefit to qualifying members, who are receiving long-term heat-related help with the installation of potentially life-saving equipment like air conditioning units or refrigerators to keep medications cool.

Baden said the program will last for at least a couple of years.

Oregon Health Plan members can call +1 (888) 834-4304 or email ORHRSN@acentra.com to see if they are eligible for heat-related equipment.

Some Portlanders might also qualify for an air conditioning unit. https://www.portland.gov/bps/cleanenergy/how-request-cooling-unit

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PORTLAND Ore. (KPTV) – It’s only the first week of July, and fire season is already well underway in the Pacific Northwest.

The Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) held its annual fire boss training on Tuesday with local employees and firefighters to make sure resources on both the air and the ground are prepared for the coming days.

Ground crews made up of employees from ODF and the Hillsboro and Clackamas Fire Departments got the chance to practice communicating with planes about where exactly to drop water on fires.

A pair of Air Tractor 802′s, normally used for agriculture purposes, flew over Hagg Lake to demonstrate scooping up the hundreds of gallons of water–normally about 600 gallons for each plane.

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“More so now than at any time in my career, the wildland fire environment is changing,” said long-time ODF employee Wally Waible, who participated in the training.

“We require various resources, and aviation is becoming more and more important for us in what we do…we’re here to learn how to call in drops and how to communicate with them best,” he said. “We have to put ourselves in their shoes and try to describe it in the best way possible for them to understand what it is that we want.”

Pilot Aaron Vince said it’s a satisfying feeling to drop water exactly where the ground crews were hoping. But sometimes, it’s difficult to communicate.

“Sometimes you have to interpret what they’re saying as, ‘I think he really wants this’, and you go and give him a drop and see if you’re on the same page,” he said.

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A number of elements make it harder every year for these crews to do their jobs.

“Increase in fire activity and decrease in personnel,” Vince said. “It’s like really hard to find pilots right now and I also understand it’s the same for ground resources.”

“With record high temperatures in early July, just continue to compound, and as we get into later in the summer, things are going to get hot and dry and continue to elevate in fire danger,” said Neal Laugle, the State Aviation Manager with the Oregon Department of Forestry.

ODF employees said they are not expecting this fire season to be worse than years past, but they know flames are unpredictable.

“My boss always says, ‘ask me in October, and I’ll tell you how fire season went,’” Waible said.

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The Oregon Ducks might be the hottest team in the country on the recruiting trail.

In just the last week, the Ducks have landed commitments from five-star recruits Jordon Davison and Dorian Brew, as well as four-star talents Josiah Sharma and Dashaan Brame.

In fact, in total for the month of June, Oregon coach Dan Lanning and the Ducks landed six pledges. As a result, they have risen all the way to No. 5 in the On3 national recruiting rankings, trailing only Ohio State, Alabama, LSU and Georgia.

And now, it appears they could be in good shape to contend for another top talent, in five-star Zephyrhills (FL) cornerback DJ Pickett, who placed the Ducks in his top-four on Monday.

Oregon, Georgia, LSU and Miami are the final contenders for the 6-foot-4, 190-pound prospect.

Pickett narrowed his choices after a string of official visits to Oregon on June 21, Miami on June 14, Georgia on June 7, Clemson on June 1, and LSU on May 31.

“Had a great time at Oregon,” Pickett’s father told On3. “Oregon showed a lot of hospitality. Great time Oregon. We saw Oregon had a couple of commitments over the weekend.”

Last season Zephyrhills, Pickett was a two way star, catching 52 passes for 1,033 yards and 15 TD, as well as 31 tackles and a pick on defense. In 2022 as a sophomore, he had 39 tackles, four interceptions and three pass breakups, to go along with 886 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns.

Rated as a consensus five-star recruit, Pickett ranks as the No. six player in the nation, the No. 2 cornerback, and the No. 1 player in the talent-rich state of Florida, per the On3 Industry Ranking.

He is set to make his decision later this fall.