U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley summed up the new normal for Oregon summers on Monday as state and federal officials briefed him, fellow Sen. Ron Wyden and U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici on preparations for tackling wildfires. “There’s always a sense of hope and dread during this season,” Merkley said at the kickoff of the morning conference in downtown Portland. Just two days earlier, a fire ignited along the Deschutes River about two miles south of Maupin, growing to around 1,000 acres by Sunday evening. Central Oregon Fire has deployed multiple tankers and helicopters to battle the blaze, called the Long Bend Fire, and around 5% of the fire was contained as of Monday. Read more at the link in our bio. 📸: ODOT #wildfires #wildfireseason #firefighters #oregon #california #theoregonian