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Good morning, Northwest.

The hot springs at Breitenbush northeast of Detroit, Oregon, have been known and loved for generations.

The resort there was mostly built in the 1920s. About a century later, the historic Labor Day wildfires would have completely wiped it off the map if not for the efforts of a small team of volunteer firefighters.

OPB’s Arya Surowidjojo leads off this morning’s newsletter with the story of how they saved Breitenbush.

In other news, House lawmakers in Oregon passed a transportation funding package yesterday during the special session called by the governor. The bill now heads to the Senate where margins are expected to also be razor thin.

Here’s your First Look at Tuesday’s news.

— Bradley W. Parks

How volunteer firefighters saved Oregon’s Breitenbush Hot Springs

When the evacuation notices began on Sept. 6, 2020, Breitenbush Fire Chief Jordan Pollack was some 300 miles away in Port Townsend, Washington, coordinating efforts as the off-land manager of his fire department.

By the next day, he and his small firefighting crew would be the last line of defense against a megafire that was threatening to wipe the historic Breitenbush resort off the map.

But first they had to get there.

As thousands of Oregonians evacuated from the fire’s path and those of other major fires that burned across the state, Pollack and his crew went toward the danger to save one of the oldest recreational sites in Oregon. (Arya Surowidjojo)

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3 things to know this morning

• Lawmakers in the Oregon House of Representatives voted 36-12 to pass Gov. Tina Kotek’s plan to fund the state transportation agency. That’s the minimum number of votes needed to approve new taxes, and Democrats needed the help of one moderate Republican to get there. (Dirk VanderHart)

• Teachers in the Woodburn district, where about 87% of the student body identifies as Hispanic or Latino, say students are fearful of ICE raids as they return to school. (Natalie Pate)

• Firefighters have made progress on the Flat Fire burning in Central Oregon, reaching 52% containment yesterday. But red flag warnings take effect later today for parts of Central and Southern Oregn. (OPB staff)

Headlines from around the Northwest

• There’s still time for Oregon families to receive ‘summer’ food benefits (Tiffany Camhi)

• Oregonians gather across the state for Labor Day protests (OPB staff)

• New tribal languages program coming to Chiloquin Elementary School (Jane Vaughan)

Listen in on OPB’s daily conversation

“Think Out Loud” airs at noon and 8 p.m. weekdays on OPB Radio, opb.org and the OPB News app. Today’s planned topics (subject to change):

• Will Vaux’s swifts return to Portland’s Chapman Elementary?

• Former manager of Portland homeless shelters helps people replace lost IDs, birth certificates

Drones blasting AC/DC are helping biologists protect cattle from wolves

Biologists on the Oregon-California border are finding help from drones in the ongoing effort to scare wolves away from cattle using nonlethal means.

The team of scientists with the U.S. Department of Agriculture will play loud noises like AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck” or shouting movie dialogue via loudspeakers attached to drones to stop wolf predation.

Early tests of the technology has shown success in scaring off wolves without harming them, though it’s unclear if wolves would become unfazed over time. (Cedar Attanasio)

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News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2025/09/02/breitenbush-hot-springs-first-look/