Phillips Reservoir, near Baker City on April 8, 2025. (Jayson Jacoby/Baker City Herald)

Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek has declared the first drought emergencies of the year for two counties on opposite sides of the state.

The governor signed two executive orders declaring drought emergencies on Thursday in Baker County along the northeast Oregon-Idaho border, and Lincoln County, on the Oregon Coast, ordering the state’s Office of Emergency Management and the Agriculture and Water Resources departments to assist the counties by expediting review processes and reducing fees for emergency permits to draw more water or temporarily transfer a water right.

Both counties experienced below normal precipitation, higher temperatures, declining streamflow, and a decrease in soil moisture conditions. Lincoln County has been experiencing drought since May 27, and Baker County has since June 3, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, a joint project of the federal Department of Agriculture, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Conditions are not expected to improve, according to a news release from the governor’s office.

Drought will likely increase wildfire risks and lead to economic impacts on farming, ranching, recreation, tourism and other natural resource sectors, according to the release. It could also shorten crop growing seasons in those parts of the state. Drinking water supplies, fish and wildlife are also at risk of harm.

Between June and November 2024, the governor issued four drought declarations starting with Jefferson County followed by Lake, Wallowa and Harney counties.

Droughts are exacerbated by human-caused climate change, and in the West, droughts have become longer, more frequent and more severe, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.