Central Oregon Fire Information reported dozens of new fire starts, ranging in size from a quarter acre to 800 acres, on Wednesday and Thursday.

The Pacific Northwest was moved to “Preparedness Level 5,” the highest level, on Friday.

“At this Preparedness Level [PL] there is significant wildfire activity throughout the U.S. creating a shortage of wildland fire fighting personnel and resources. Pacific NW incident management teams are fully committed to large fires and incident management teams from other parts of the U.S. are needed to manage ongoing and anticipated wildfires in the Pacific NW Region,” the Northwest Interagency Coordination Center wrote. “As hot, dry, windy conditions persist, new large fires continue to emerge. Stay alert, follow fire restrictions, and report any smoke or fire immediately.”

Several new fires have been reported in the Willamette National Forest on the west side of the Cascades. Crews and aircraft have been deployed to try to knock down these wildfires.

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She also issued a reminder: It’s not over yet.

At a news conference with officials from multiple state agencies, Kotek revealed more than 1.5 million acres have burned this year. That’s more than double the 10-year average of 640,000 acres.

Thirty-two homes and 99 outbuildings have been destroyed, and the fires have cost $214 million to fight.

The governor acknowledged the hard work crews have put in fighting the fires.

“People have been putting their personal lives on the line, putting them on hold, being out there every single day for weeks now, and I just want to say thank you, to our firefighters, our support crews, our incident commanders who have been fighting these fires, keeping our communities safe and keeping people safe,” Kotek said.

She said 6,500 people across the Pacific Northwest are out in the field working to put out the fires.

“Because of the hard work of the folks here and all the crews across the state, we’ve been able to protect a lot of communities,” Kotek said. “But I can tell you this team, and what we’ve been doing this season, has been pushed to the brink. We have tapped into every resource we can.”

The governor noted the most dangerous part of fire season usually comes at the end of August and beginning of September.

Priorities include reinforcing control lines on existing fires and watching for changing weather conditions.

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“I feel very sad, and I feel I was shocked to read it, just horrific,” said Maxine Fookson, with Jewish Voice for Peace.

Incidents like these are not surprising to Marc Blattner, the president of the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland.

“We in Portland have seen a growing number of antisemitic incidents, whether it’s at our Jewish organizations or for Jewish individuals in general — and it’s been very, very difficult,” said Blattner. “So I go to bed and I wonder, am I going to get a phone call at two in the morning that something happened to a Jewish individual, Jewish institution in our city?”

He’s not the only one in the community to notice an increase in antisemitic attacks.

“I think that we know antisemitism as all forms of racist discrimination and hate. Hate acts are on the rise, are on the increase, and we need to be very vigilant,” said Fookson.

“It could be as simple as a note left at a synagogue door to somebody coming to a synagogue and smashing the cameras or lighting a small little fire under at the doorway, or it could be something much more serious than that,” said Blattner.

Blattner says he’s been seeing safety risks rise since 2018, after a shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue that killed 11 people.

The toll these threats take on the community is not just emotional, it is financial.

“In Portland, the Jewish organizations together spend over a million dollars in safety and security practices,” said Jessica Anderson, the regional security adviser for the Portland Federation. “This includes guards. This includes safety security enhancements to their building. This is just part of being in a Jewish community.”

That’s just the cost for one year.

Anderson encourages people to report any threats of hate they may experience.

“If you go to the Jewish Federation website, there’s an opportunity there to report incidents. The Oregon Department of Justice Bias hotline is a state-run program out of Salem. They’re also online,” said Anderson.

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According to court documents, the victim, a Portland man, met the suspect while playing the lottery machines at Montana’s Bar in Southeast Portland Saturday night.

After winning around $2,000 from the machines, the victim left the bar and walked back to his apartment.

According to prosecutors, the suspect, later identified as Pablo Andres Figueroa, 61, had secretly followed the victim home and slipped through the security gate.

Surveillance footage reportedly showed Figueroa following behind the man several paces until reaching his apartment door.

Before the victim could close the door, prosecutors allege Figueroa forced the door open and tackled the man, punching him in the face and demanding money.

The victim handed over some of the cash, but Figueroa demanded more — then stabbed the victim with a pocketknife 15 times in the arms, chest and face.

The victim later told investigators he played dead to end the attack and then blacked out.

Police responding to the scene said that after speaking with employees at the apartment, they realized the suspect likely had not left the scene.

After a search of the building, they discovered Figueroa in a trash room and arrested him. Investigators say he was found with $624 in cash and some bloodied pants. The pocketknife was found in a cat litter box outside the victim’s apartment, according to court documents.

Figueroa pleaded not guilty to charges of attempted murder, robbery, assault, burglary and unlawful use of a weapon at his arraignment.

A judge ordered him held without bail until a preventative detention hearing can be held. He is due back in court on Aug. 27.

Figueroa is listed with no fixed address in court records. He has several convictions out of Arkansas and California, including for battering a spouse, threatening a crime with intent to terrorize and failing to comply with sex offender reporting requirements.

He has an open case in Multnomah County from 2022 on charges of unauthorized use of a vehicle and possession of a stolen vehicle.

Additionally, he was charged with identity theft and drug charges in Washington County in 2021.

Court records show a warrant was issued for his arrest the day before the stabbing after he failed to show up for his court appearance that day.

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If approved, the statewide measure would give voters the option to rank candidates in order of preference for elections to federal and state offices. This includes the president, members of Congress, the governor, the secretary of state and the attorney general.

The ballot measure would not affect state legislative elections, which would continue to use the one-person-one-vote method.

Three local jurisdictions have already adopted ranked-choice voting: Benton County, Multnomah County and Portland.

Benton County voters approved ranked choice voting in 2016.

Portland will use the new system for the first time in the November election this year.

Multnomah County will start using ranked choice voting in 2026.

On Wednesday night, supporters with the “YES on Measure 117: Ranked Choice Voting” campaign held a mock ranked-choice voting election and speakers discussed the benefits of the voting system.

“Oregon is at a crossroads as voters are increasingly frustrated with a political system that for too long has failed to address critical issues impacting local communities,” the Yes on Measure 117 press release reads.

If approved by voters, the law would take effect on January 1, 2028.

Alaska and Maine are the only two states that have approved rank-choice voting in statewide and federal elections.

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