Originally published on July 15, 2021 6:55 pm
Even as wildfires continued to burn across Oregon on Thursday, wind offered temporary respite to many communities that have been blanketed in the heaviest wildfire smoke. But the U.S. Interagency Wildland Fire Air Quality Response Program cautions there could well be more smoke to come, especially in the southern, central and eastern areas of the state.
Strong winds overnight Wednesday into Thursday cleared smoke in the Klamath Falls area, which had been heavily affected by the largest wildfire now burning in the United States the Bootleg Fire. Smoke forecasts call for similar weather patterns overnight Thursday into Friday, with smoke likely to be heavier in the Sprague River Valley and the Harney Basin and low-lying areas.
Oregon DEQ says cloth masks won t protect from wildfire smoke, offers other advice Joseph English
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The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality says Oregon recorded the worst air quality ever in 2020.
The fine particulate matter, which is the stuff that gets deep into your lungs and causes coughing and wheezing and worse, was higher than any other time since the DEQ started monitoring the air in 1985.
Before 2020, Portland had never experienced air quality measuring higher than unhealthy. But in 2020, there were three very unhealthy days and five hazardous days.
And what is usually the hottest and smokiest time of the year is yet to come late August into early September.
Oregons Bootleg Fire is torching an area larger than NYC. Firefighters are scrambling to contain it.
Oregons Bootleg Fire is torching an.
The fast-moving Bootleg Fire in southern Oregon has scorched an area thousands of acres larger than New York City - prompting new evacuations and increasing concerns over thinning resources as the state enters the highest level of wildfire preparedness.
The conflagration is one of thousands of wildfires torching areas as far east as Minnesota, signs of another potentially dire fire season. We are seeing conditions that we usually see in mid-August, said Alison Green, public affairs director for the Oregon Office of State Fire Marshals. It s been extreme fire behavior over the last week that has created conditions that are certainly challenging.
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Smoke around Scio, Stayton and Silverton is from authorized test fires to determine the direction of the smoke and see if weather conditions are favorable for field burning, not from a wildfire, the Oregon Department of Agriculture said in an announcement Friday.
The test burns happen while a burn ban is in effect in Marion County, which includes agricultural burning, such as field burning and agricultural wastes and crops. The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality states that people must apply for a permit to burn industrial and commercial waste and must receive permission from the local fire department to burn demolition waste, yard debris and other materials.