Public safety officials flag radio glitches, recent structure fire and looming burn season

A public-safety official told the council the county's new radio system—installed under a compressed schedule to meet grant deadlines—has produced intermittent communication problems that sometimes prevent dispatch and officers from hearing each other.

"It's a lengthy project that would normally take about 3 years to do, and they fast tracked it within a short period of time because of the grant funding and grant deadlines," the public-safety official said, adding that technicians are working on the system's towers and that fixes will take time.

The council also heard a fire department report on a recent structure fire that involved multiple houses. The fire official said crews focused on protecting neighboring homes, evacuated residents and coordinated with the Red Cross to assist displaced people and pets. "We had a total of 30 partners on scene," the speaker said, describing the scale of the response. The official said responders believed the ignition source involved an air-conditioning unit connected to an extension cord.

Officials warned that local burn season is approaching and may begin in the weeks after Memorial Day, and noted parts of Eastern Oregon are already in fire season. Councilors asked about preparedness and training for electric-vehicle incidents and battery fires; staff said departments are receiving training on those specific hazards as part of ongoing programs.

The council did not take formal action on the reports but discussed follow-up on communications fixes and ongoing training. Staff said they will continue to work with the vendor to resolve radio issues and to schedule additional training for electric-vehicle and wildfire response.