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Oregon Governor Extends Statewide Emergency Declaration

<p>Oregon Gov. Kate Brown with Malheur County Sheriff Brian Wolfe on Friday, Feb. 10, 2017.</p>

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown with Malheur County Sheriff Brian Wolfe on Friday, Feb. 10, 2017.

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown extended a statewide emergency declaration Friday. The declaration will now last another 30 days.

The extension comes after severe, record-breaking winter storms continually swept across eastern Oregon in January.

Brown visited Ontario on Friday to show support for recovery efforts.

“It's clear communities like Malheur County and businesses in Ontario face ongoing challenges," the governor said.

Heavy snowfall collapsed several roofs in the region, resulting in millions of dollars in lost inventory at onion storage facilities. One onion industry official estimated the loss as high as $100 million, according to the Associated Press.

Brown's order gives the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality discretion to temporarily suspend certain rules, so collapsed buildings can be quickly demolished and removed.

Copyright 2017 Oregon Public Broadcasting

Kristian Foden-Vencil is a veteran journalist/producer working for Oregon Public Broadcasting. He started as a cub reporter for newspapers in London, England in 1988. Then in 1991 he moved to Oregon and started freelancing. His work has appeared in publications as varied as The Oregonian, the BBC, the Salem Statesman Journal, Willamette Week, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, NPR and the Voice of America. Kristian has won awards from the Associated Press, Society of Professional Journalists and the Association of Capitol Reporters and Editors. He was embedded with the Oregon National Guard in Iraq in 2004 and now specializes in business, law, health and politics.