Oregon
Police identify air tanker pilot killed while fighting Eastern Oregon fire
Authorities have identified the air tanker pilot who died last week while attempting to fight one of a series of large wildfires across Eastern Oregon.
The Grant County Sheriff’s Office announced Sunday that the pilot was James Bailey Maxwell. The 74-year-old flew approximately 24,000 hours during his more than five decades of flying professionally, according to a U.S. Forest Service statement on Facebook.
James Bailey Maxwell, 74, is confirmed by the Grant County Sheriff as the pilot who was killed in a tanker plane crash near Seneca, Ore., while fighting the Falls Fire on July 25, 2024.
Courtesy of the U.S. Forest Service – Malheur National Forest
Search and rescue teams located the wreckage of Maxwell’s plane the morning of July 26. He had gone missing the previous afternoon, as many aircraft were attempting to get control of the Falls Fire, a megafire blazing through large swaths of Grant and Harney counties.
Firefighting pilot killed in tanker plane crash in Eastern Oregon
His plane was found in a steep, forested area of the fire. The exact location has not been made public. The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the cause of the crash.
As of Sunday, the Falls Fire has grown to cover an area of about 222 square miles (142,307 acres), but is now 57% contained.
The Forest Service did not release more details about Maxwell’s background, but said he had family in Oregon, Idaho and Washington.
Oregon
OPB’s First Look: Town hall follows power outages
“),r.close()),!r)throw Error(“base not supported”);var a=r.createElement(“base”);a.href=n,r.getElementsByTagName(“head”)[0].appendChild(a);var i=r.createElement(“a”);return i.href=t,i.href}finally{e&&e.parentNode.removeChild(e)}}());var l=i(t||””),f=function(){if(!(“defineProperties”in Object))return!1;try{var e={};return Object.defineProperties(e,{prop:{get:function(){return!0}}}),e.prop}catch(t){return!1}}(),h=f?this:document.createElement(“a”),m=new o(l.search?l.search.substring(1):null);return m._url_object=h,Object.defineProperties(h,{href:{get:function(){return l.href},set:function(e){l.href=e,r(),u()},enumerable:!0,configurable:!0},origin:{get:function(){return”origin”in l?l.origin:this.protocol+”//”+this.host},enumerable:!0,configurable:!0},protocol:{get:function(){return l.protocol},set:function(e){l.protocol=e},enumerable:!0,configurable:!0},username:{get:function(){return l.username},set:function(e){l.username=e},enumerable:!0,configurable:!0},password:{get:function(){return l.password},set:function(e){l.password=e},enumerable:!0,configurable:!0},host:{get:function(){var e={“http:”:/:80$/,”https:”:/:443$/,”ftp:”:/:21$/}[l.protocol];return e?l.host.replace(e,””):l.host},set:function(e){l.host=e},enumerable:!0,configurable:!0},hostname:{get:function(){return l.hostname},set:function(e){l.hostname=e},enumerable:!0,configurable:!0},port:{get:function(){return l.port},set:function(e){l.port=e},enumerable:!0,configurable:!0},pathname:{get:function(){return”https://www.opb.org/”!==l.pathname.charAt(0)?”https://www.opb.org/”+l.pathname:l.pathname},set:function(e){l.pathname=e},enumerable:!0,configurable:!0},search:{get:function(){return l.search},set:function(e){l.search!==e&&(l.search=e,r(),u())},enumerable:!0,configurable:!0},searchParams:{get:function(){return m},enumerable:!0,configurable:!0},hash:{get:function(){return l.hash},set:function(e){l.hash=e,r()},enumerable:!0,configurable:!0},toString:{value:function(){return l.toString()},enumerable:!1,configurable:!0},valueOf:{value:function(){return l.valueOf()},enumerable:!1,configurable:!0}}),h}var c,s=e.URL;try{if(s){if(“searchParams”in(c=new e.URL(“http://example.com”))){var f=new l(“http://example.com”);if(f.search=”a=1&b=2″,”http://example.com/?a=1&b=2″===f.href&&(f.search=””,”http://example.com/”===f.href))return}”href”in c||(c=undefined),c=undefined}}catch(m){}if(Object.defineProperties(o.prototype,{append:{value:function(e,t){this._list.push({name:e,value:t}),this._update_steps()},writable:!0,enumerable:!0,configurable:!0},”delete”:{value:function(e){for(var t=0;t document.createElement(“picture”);
Oregon
Public asked to help find missing 2-year-old Armani Andrews in Portland
PORTLAND, Ore. (KATU) — Oregon officials asked the public to help find a two-year-old boy who went missing from Portland last Wednesday, June 17.
The Oregon Department of Human Services, Child Welfare Division, is asking the public to help find Armani Andrews and call 911 or local law enforcement if they believe they saw him.
Armani is believed to be in danger and is suspected to be in Portland, around any of the following areas: Rose Haven, Multnomah County Central Library, or Southeast Portland around 82nd-103rd.
Armani is a two-year-old Black/mixed race baby. He is about 24 inches tall, he has brown hair, brown eyes, and his weight is unknown.
If contacting Portland Police Bureau about Armani, reference the case number: #PP185430
The report number for Armani with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children Report is: 2093182
ODHS said in a statement when a child is missing, they may be in significant danger and the department “may need to locate them to assess and support their safety.”
KATU News reached out to ODHS to clarify whether there is a custody aspect to the missing child’s case. The department said they are unable to provide that information.
Armani Andrews with Mother Rashonda Andrews/ODHS photos
You can report suspected child abuse to the Oregon Child Abuse Hotline by calling 1-855-503-SAFE (7233). The toll-free number allows anyone to report abuse of any child or adult to the Oregon Department of Human Services, 24 hours a day, seven days a week and every day of the year.
JOIN THE CONVERSATION (12)
KATU News included photographs of Armani to help the public identify and find him.
Oregon
The Cost of the Crackdown: How Trump’s immigration enforcement affects Oregon
PORTLAND, Ore. (KATU) — President Donald Trump campaigned on carrying out what he called the largest deportation operation in American history.
After taking office, his administration quickly ramped up immigration enforcement. Border czar Tom Homan also pledged to focus on so-called sanctuary cities, including Portland. According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, more than 675,000 people were deported in 2025, while the agency says more than 2 million people “self-deported.”
READ ALSO | Supreme Court hands Trump immigration wins, but birthright citizenship might be different
In Oregon, state data shows state and local agencies experienced a 265% increase in immigration-related requests from federal authorities last year.
So what does that mean for Oregon’s economy?
The state’s chief economist says the effects are beginning to emerge.
Carl Riccadonna, Oregon’s state economist, said immigration enforcement actions are influencing consumer spending and activity across several key industries, though the state cannot yet quantify the overall impact.
“What we’re seeing in terms of immigration action is playing out in either consumption patterns, which we’ve seen in some communities, or in industrial or sectoral activity,” Riccadonna said. “This does then have implications for how we are reading the overall macroeconomy and putting together that revenue forecast.”
Portland police officers walk outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility on Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)
Riccadonna said the effects extend beyond agriculture, an industry that has historically relied on immigrant labor.
“We have certainly, in sector-by-sector analysis, we’re hearing evidence of impacts from immigration in consumption numbers, so retail, groceries, those sorts of things,” Riccadonna said. “There are also significant impacts in the retail sector and leisure and hospitality, restaurants and construction, important legacy industries of Oregon like timber, forestry … and manufacturing has a very large footprint as well.”
While the state is seeing those trends, Riccadonna said economists cannot yet calculate exactly how much immigration enforcement has affected Oregon’s economy.
“We haven’t done an exercise to say, well, this is what the forecast would have been otherwise. We don’t produce counterfactuals … but there’s plenty of anecdotal evidence from the cherry harvest this past summer and stresses elsewhere throughout those specific sectors,” he said.
National data offers additional context.
According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, the recent immigration surge — which the report says mostly comprises immigrants who were not lawful permanent residents, were not eligible to apply for lawful permanent residency based on their current status, and were not admitted on a temporary basis under the Immigration and Nationality Act — generated approximately $10 billion in state and local tax revenue in 2023. During that same period, governments spent nearly $19 billion on services such as schools, shelters and border security.
A damaged car is seen as law enforcement officials work the scene following reports that federal immigration officers shot and wounded people in Portland, Ore., Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)
The Congressional Budget Office also projects the immigration surge that began in 2023 will increase the U.S. labor force by approximately 5.8 million people by 2034 and boost the nation’s economic output by nearly $9 trillion over the next decade.
Riccadonna said Oregon expects to gain a clearer picture of the economic effects as more tax and revenue data becomes available.
This story is part of KATU’s “The Cost of the Crackdown” special, which examines how increased immigration enforcement is affecting Oregon, from businesses and workers to the state’s broader economy.
-
Sports3 seconds ago
Kyle Tucker and Dalton Rushing rebound with consecutive homers, Dodgers rout Padres
-
World12 minutes agoSerbian Vučić says he will resign in weeks and calls early elections
-
News35 minutes agoTrump-backed Rep. Julia Letlow wins Louisiana Senate primary runoff
-
New York2 hours agoMetropolitan Diary Challenge Day 1: What Is Your N.Y. Story?
-
Los Angeles, Ca2 hours agoLASD releases video of man shot by deputy after allegedly charging them with knife
-
Detroit, MI2 hours agoRick Mahorn returns to coaching Detroit basketball with BIG3 Amps
-
San Francisco, CA2 hours agoSuspect arrested after shooting near San Francisco Pride events, police say
-
Dallas, TX2 hours agoDallas shooting injures 2 as police search for suspect