Gov. Brown declares drought emergency in Klamath Co.

Jenna King March 31, 2021

Last Updated: March 31, 2021

KLAMATH COUNTY, Ore. —On Wednesday Governor Kate Brown declared a drought emergency for Klamath County. It’s the first county in the state, to receive the declaration this year.

By signing the order, it directs state agencies to coordinate and prioritize assistance to the region. Earlier this month, the snow water equivalent in Klamath County, was 77% of a normal water year, according to the state.

Mark Johnson from the Klamath Water Users Association, says the declaration couldn’t come at a better time.

“We sent a letter to the county commissioner several weeks ago asking them to ask the governor for a drought declaration, we’re coming off a second year of the drought the in-flows to upper Klamath Lake are the lowest they’ve been on record since the 1930s, said Johnson.

Johnson says Klamath Lake is a foot lower than it was at this time last year.

Jenna King March 31, 2021

Jenna King

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Jenna King is the 6pm and 11pm anchor for NBC5 News. Jenna is a Burbank, CA native. She graduated from the University of Oregon with a degree in Broadcast Journalism and a minor in Sports Business. During her time at Oregon she was part of the student-run television station, Duck TV. She also grew her passion for sports through her internship with the PAC 12 Network. When Jenna is not in the newsroom you can find her rooting for her hometown Dodgers, exploring the outdoors or binging on the latest Netflix release.