Brown declares drought emergency in 4 more Oregon counties

BEND, Ore. (AP) — Oregon Gov. Kate Brown declared a drought emergency in four more counties this week and now more than half the land area in the state is under a drought declaration.

The emergency declarations allow people who use water to seek temporary relief measures, such as moving water rights, drilling emergency wells and applying for state and federal aid.

The new counties added this week are Deschutes, Grant, Lake and Malheur, Oregon Public Broadcasting reported Tuesday. Those counties join Crook, Gilliam, Harney, Jackson, Jefferson, Klamath and Morrow counties.

All the counties with a declared drought emergency are east of the Cascade Mountains.