Following reports of a rabid bat in Multnomah County, it turn out more of the same has been found further west. “Washington County also had a rabid bat,” disclosed Washington County Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson Wendy Gordon in an email to local media organizations Wednesday afternoon.

An Oregon City man is the latest killed on Highway 6 after a Sunday evening crash near the Coast Range summit. Forest Grove Fire & Rescue's Matt Johnston described the scene.

A fatal crash near the Coast Range summit has resulted in the closure of Highway 6.

Oregon’s legislators will head back to Salem following Governor Kate Brown’s call to convene a special legislative session to tackle congressional and legislative redistricting.

Details remain scant after a late night shooting in the Parson Road and Highway 6 area in Gales Creek Thursday night closed the highway between Banks and Gales Creek into the very early morning. No one was injured after a homeowner reported up to six shots struck his driveway near where he was standing.

Washington County's Mobile Vaccine Team has scheduled several Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccination clinics in western Washington County in the coming weeks as the county works to combat the surging Delta variant.

A helicopter crashed in a remote area in the Tillamook Forest area in Tillamook County Wednesday morning, the Tillamook County Sheriff’s Office said. It is believed that the pilot—who survived without apparent injury—struck BPA powerlines, sparking a small fire.

A single vehicle crash on Gales Creek Road near the intersection of David Hill Road across from the county-owned Rippling Waters property caused a brush fire after the vehicle ignited, lighting several trees on fire. No one was injured in the crash or subsequent fire.

Marie Boman-Davis has been promoted to lead Washington County Public Health as the public health division’s manager following the retirement of Tricia Mortell, who led the division for seven years.

The Tillamook Forest Center will remain closed through the rest of the year, the Oregon Department of Forestry said Tuesday. Last open for less than two weeks in early 2020, the interpretive center is expected to reopen in March 2022.

Adding to an earlier order to mandate masking in indoor public settings, Oregon Governor Kate Brown issued an order on Tuesday that will mandate outdoor mask wearing in settings where social distancing cannot be maintained starting Friday, August 27.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today announced full approval of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, which now will be marketed as Comirnaty, for the prevention of the coronavirus in individuals 16 years old or older.

All teachers, staff, and volunteers in K-12 schools statewide will be required to become fully vaccinated, Oregon Governor Kate Brown announced today during a press conference. Vaccines will be required by October 18 or six weeks after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration gives full approval of one of the coronavirus vaccines, whichever is later.

In an email sent Wednesday afternoon to county commissioners and mayors of most Washington County cities, Chair Kathryn Harrington added an idea to her initial concept of closing indoor dining for four weeks. Instead, Harrington said, the county could require that diners provide proof of vaccination to eat inside. A decision on the fate of indoor dining in the county during the current Delta variant surge is expected at a board meeting Tuesday, August 24.

The Washington County board of commissioners may vote on a measure by August 24 to ban indoor dining for four weeks at Washington County restaurants. “What I do want us to do is strive to reduce the pressures on health care workers and hospitals,” County Chair Kathryn Harrington said during a Tuesday work session. “As far as I know, policy-wise, the only thing we can do to help that is to restrict dining to outdoor-only for the next four weeks. Pure and simple."

100 years ago: 1,500 people are expected at a picnic in Manning, and a new route to Tillamook is planned. This week, the clips in this history column come from the July 28, 1921 edition of the Washington County News-Times.

Satoru Kamoshita, 61, of Beaverton, went under the water at Hagg Lake while swimming Saturday afternoon. His body was recovered nearly three hours later by divers with the Lake Oswego Fire Department.

The Cedar Butte Fire is now 74 acres, crews have fully lined the fire, and are now focused on containment and mop up, the Oregon Department of Forestry said in what will likely be their final update on the fire.

Over the weekend, more ground crews are expected to join the fight at the Cedar Butte Fire to aid in containment and mopping up. The aircraft support will be released to fight other fires at the close of today's shift.

The Cedar Butte Fire, burning west of Highway 6 near Cedar Butte Road in the Tillamook State Forest, is now estimated to be 60 acres in size where it burns in a freshly logged unit that completed a timber harvest last month. Hagg Lake closed at 8 a.m. to allow two Single Engine Air Tankers to scoop water from the lake to fight the fire.

Citing the rapidly spreading Delta variant of the coronavirus, Governor Brown announced during a press conference that an indoor mask order in public spaces would be effective Friday.

A new wildfire called the Cedar Butte Fire, estimated at 25-30 acres, is burning in the Tillamook State Forest 18 miles east of Tillamook and north of Highway 6.

Facing another heat wave, the Oregon Department of Forestry will move fire danger to “extreme” in the eastern portion of the Tillamook State Forest and surrounding ODF-protected areas, and prohibit a number of activities in areas of the forest starting early Wednesday morning.

Oregon Governor Kate Brown will reinstate an indoor mask mandate for the entire state, the governor's office announced Tuesday afternoon. The governor will also require state employees to become vaccinated, with exceptions only for medical reasons or religious beliefs. More details are expected Wednesday. The Oregon Health Authority reported 635 patients in hospitals with COVID-19, an all-time high.

Governor Kate Brown declared a state of emergency on Tuesday for the entire state in advance of triple digit temperatures expected across much of the state beginning Wednesday.

100 years ago: A young boy dies in Banks after being struck by a truck, a Gales Creek man receives a special commendation from the U.S. Navy, and more. This week, the clips in this history column come from the July 28, 1921 edition of the Washington County News-Times.

Here we go again: Triple digits are in the forecast as region's third major heat wave this summer looms. The National Weather Service issued an 'Excessive Heat Watch' beginning Wednesday and extending through Saturday evening.

“We know that historically this has been a popular gathering place in the community. However, the fish passage barrier poses a threat to anyone who trespasses on the site,” an email from Clean Water Services said. The agency's efforts to secure funding to remove the Balm Grove Dam have suffered another setback after being denied a grant on July 23.

Detectives with the Washington County Sheriff's Office are seeking information on more victims following the arrest of a Cornelius man Wednesday on charges of rape, among other charges. Detectives believes that Darby Martin, 27, met his victims at the Manning Dairy Queen, where he worked.

Starting September 30, Oregon Governor Kate Brown will require workers in health care settings to be tested weekly for COVID-19, a rule that health care workers can avoid by becoming vaccinated.

Two people are the latest killed in a crash on the Wilson River Highway stretching from Banks to Tillamook after a collision on Saturday.

100 years ago: A picnic at Banks' "Hop Ranch," a lot of blackberries, someone's driving in Gales Creek in a Grant Six touring car and more. This week, the clips in this history column come from the July 21, 1921 edition of the Washington County News-Times.

Photos, videos, infrared images, maps, the words of firefighters on the ground and hard labor tell the story of the Game Hog Creek Fire in the Tillamook State Forest.

Governor Kate Brown declared a state of emergency on Thursday in 23 of Oregon’s 36 counties—including Washington County—due to the heat wave beginning in much of the state today.

On Thursday, Governor Kate Brown issued a directive to the Oregon Health Authority and the Oregon Department of Education to create a rule to require face coverings indoors for students in K-12 schools across the state for the 2021-22 school year, citing CDC guidance.

The National Weather Service had to draw the line somewhere to mark the boundary of the Excessive Heat Watch beginning on Thursday. That line? It's right down the middle of the Gales Creek Tavern.

The Gales Creek Tavern opened under new owners on May 20 to customers after significant renovation and work on the building.

A resident of The Dalles was killed Monday morning in a crash on Highway 6 near the Coast Range summit.

A crash east of the summit of the Coast Range on Highway 6 closed the Wilson River Highway Monday morning.

Fire crews are pushing into the interior of the Game Hog Creek Fire as they work to establish a 300 foot perimeter free of burning material, the Oregon Department of Forestry said on Wednesday.