Droughts don't end in one day.

But Wednesday is giving it quite a try.

As of 1 p.m., 1.16 of an inch of rain had fallen at the Baker City Airport, and rain was still coming down heavily.

It's the wettest day here in more than five years — since 1.26 inches fell on May 28, 2008.

This is the first day of measurable rain at the airport in June, which on average is the second-wettest month.

Before the rain started, at about 5 a.m. today, the rainfall total for 2013 was 37 percent below average.

By 1 p.m. the deluge had trimmed the yearly total to 16 percent below average.

On June 5 the Baker County Board of Commissioners declared a drought emergency.

By Chris Collins

This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

A 12-year-old Baker City boy who suffered a severe skull fracture when he fell from a rope swing into the Powder River Saturday is making what has been termed a “miracle recovery.”

Josiah Potter was moved from intensive care to the pediatric floor of St. Luke’s Medical Center in Boise Monday, his mother, Tovah Potter said in a telephone interview today.

She said her husband, David,was at the river near the D Street bridge with their three sons when the accident happened. Josiah was not breathing after the fall and his father resuscitated him with rescue breathing before dialing 9-1-1, she said. 

“He saved his life,” she said.