Sean C. Morgan
Of The New Era
Sweet Home tied one heat record and set two new ones over the weekend.
Temperatures topped out at 102 degrees on July 21, 101 on July 22 and 105 on July 23 at Foster Dam.
The temperatures listed on page 2 refer to the previous 24-hour period, from midnight to midnight. For example, Sunday’s temperature is listed on July 24 at 105.
Previous records for the same periods were 102 for July 21, 1978; 97 for July 22, 1978; and 103 for July 23, 2004 at the dam, according to National Weather Service records kept for approximately 60 years.
Temperatures earlier in the week ranged from 81 degrees to 94 compared to records ranging from the 90s to as high as 101 on July 19 in 1988.
Average temperatures for July run about 80.4 degrees for the high and 50.8 degress for the low.
Sweet Home Fire and Ambulance District reported no heat exhaustion or heat-related medical calls over the weekend.
The heat impacted Linn County Fair attendance, Fair Manager Terry Wood said. Fair attendance dropped from about 24,434 last year to 20,052 this year.
“I know that we’re off somewhat with attendance, but it was not as bad as I thought it might be,” Wood said. The Fair itself went well, and the new Family Land was a big improvement. Family Land provided activities such as pony rides, petting zoos and bird house building for children.
“We had a great lineup for the Fair,” as far as entertainment, Wood said, and the Fair is in good shape as it looks forward to next year.
He said the impact on attendance of a heat wave two years ago was much worse.
Around Sweet Home, firefighters took action on two small fires over the weekend, said Kevin Crowell, Oregon Department of Forestry Sweet Home Unit forester.
One was in the Quartzville area on Canal Creek. A camper had not extinguished a camp fire before leaving. The fire spread and burned approximately 20 feet by 35 feet.
A boater reported a fire in a log between the high-water mark and the waterline on Green Peter Reservoir near Nicholson Point. The fire was probably caused by a boat camper who failed to extinguish a camp fire, Crowell said.
The Sweet Home area had no lightning-caused fires over the weekend, Crowell said. The U.S. Forest Service is dealing with lightning fires in the Deschutes and Umpqua national forests.
On Monday, there was a chance of lightning that was expected to fade till the end of this week, Crowell said. He said the chance for lightning will likely increase Thursday or Friday.