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The Nugget Newspaper
Sisters, Oregon
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The contents of the on-line edition of The Nugget represent a selection among the stories that appear in the weekly print edition.

Hoodoo shuts down after rain
By Jim Cornelius

Hoodoo Ski area west of Sisters shut down on Monday after a storm brought rain instead of much needed snow.

"We have a lake," said Brynne Beverly of Hoodoo. "It poured Saturday and Sunday."

Beverly said the ski area could open again as early as Thursday -- if there's snow. (The ski area regularly closes on Wednesdays).

"If we get another storm that has six inches in it, we'll be able to reopen," Beverly said.

Hoodoo has 22 to 27 inches on the ground.

The shutdown reflects the lack of snowfall throughout Central Oregon. A measuring station at McKenzie Pass reports only 13.9 inches of snow (water equivalent), compared to a 27.9 average. A Hogg Pass station also reports 50 percent of average.

At Three Creek Lake it's even worse: 4.5 inches of snow (water equivalent) compared to 11.5 inches average. That's only 39 percent of the seasonal average.

The lack of snow is bad for skiers. It also bodes ill for a drought ridden region just coming off a terrible fire season -- and looking at threatening conditions in the woods as early as June.

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