Wednesday, September 30, 2020

Fire and Air Quality Map

The map above shows current fires and air quality at monitors around the state. The colors indicate Air Quality Index (AQI) health levels. The numbers you see when clicking on an icon are PM 2.5 concentrations, not AQI levels. For AQI numbers, visit DEQ's AQI or download the free OregonAir app for Android or iPhone. Round icons represent permanent air quality monitors, triangular icons represent temporary monitors (when deployed).

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Air quality advisory through Saturday for Southern Oregon, South Central Oregon and parts of Central Oregon

Statewide, OR—The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality issued an air quality advisory Wednesday for Southern Oregon and South Central Oregon due to smoke from wildfires in California and Oregon.

The following areas are under air quality advisories:
• Josephine, Jackson, Klamath and Lake counties through Saturday. Smoke is coming from wildfires in California.
• Warm Springs Reservation through Saturday. Smoke is coming from the Lionshead Fire.

Smoke and haze will be visible throughout much of Oregon, particularly in the Willamette Valley and along the Oregon Coast. However, the air quality outside of Southern Oregon and South Central Oregon is not expected to reach unhealthy levels.

DEQ and partner agencies will continue to monitor smoke levels in these areas and air quality across the state.

Smoke levels can change rapidly depending on weather. Check current conditions by visiting the Oregon Smoke Information Blog, downloading the free OregonAIR app on your smartphone, or going to on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Air Now.

Smoke can irritate the eyes and lungs and worsen some medical conditions. Young children, adults over 65, pregnant women and people with heart disease, asthma or other respiratory conditions are most at risk.

Protect your health when smoke levels are high:
• Avoid outdoor activities and stay inside if possible. Keep windows and doors closed.
• Be aware of smoke in your area and avoid places with the highest levels.
• Use high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters. These can be portable filters or can be installed in indoor heating, ventilation, cooling and air purification systems. You can also create your own air purifying filter by following these easy DIY air filter instructions .
• If you have heart or lung disease or asthma, follow your healthcare provider’s advice.

Cloth, dust and surgical masks don’t protect from the harmful particles in smoke. N95 respirators that are tested to ensure proper fit and that are worn correctly may provide protection. Otherwise, they might just provide a false sense of security. They are not available in children’s sizes and are not recommended for strenuous activities. N95 respirators are in limited supply due to COVID-19. Additional information on wildfire smoke and COVID-19 can be found on the Centers for Disease Control webpage.

DEQ’s color-coded Air Quality Index provides current air quality conditions and ranks air quality as follows: Green is good. Yellow is moderate. Orange is unhealthy for sensitive groups such as children, seniors, pregnant women and those with respiratory conditions. Red is unhealthy for everyone. Purple is very unhealthy for everyone. Maroon is hazardous.

Find more information: Oregon Smoke Blog

Media contact:
• Dylan Darling, Oregon DEQ, 541-686-7997, dylan.darling@deq.state.or.us
or Harry Esteve, Oregon DEQ, 503-951-3856, harry.esteve@deq.state.or.us

Local contacts
Curry County: Sherrié Ward, wards@co.curry.or.us, 541-247-3387
Josephine County: Jason Roberts, jroberts@co.josephine.or.us, 541-474-5151
Jackson County: Tanya Phillips, phillitf@jacksoncounty.org, 541-770-7708
Klamath County: Valeree Lane, vlane@klamathcounty.org, 541-851-3737
Lake County: Judy Clarke, jclarke@lakehealthdistrict.org, 541-947-6045, ext. 5
The Klamath Tribes: Zak Jackson, zakary.jackson@klamathtribes.com, 541-783-2219, ext. 184
Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs: Tim Outman, tim.outman@ctwsbnr.org, 541-553-2016

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Tuesday, September 29, 2020

Southwest Oregon smoke outlook for Sept. 29 and 30

We're seeing smoke Tuesday in Southwest Oregon near the Slater and Devil fires.

Here's the smoke outlook for Tuesday and Wednesday by Seth Morphis, the air resource advisor, assigned to the fires. 

Special Statement
Brace for impact! Although most of the forecast area will start the day with Good air quality, moderate to heavy smoke generated from active fires to the south, will return to the forecast area today.
Fire
The Slater and Devil fires remain active as crews continue to focus on line construction. More detailed information can be found at: Slater/Devil Fires Inciweb Information
Smoke
Strong ridging will bring high temperatures and light, mainly terrain driven, surface winds today. Higher level transport winds will have a southerly component and will carry smoke from the very active fires to the south, northward into the forecast area starting this afternoon. Those in Happy Camp and the Seiad Valley will be the first to see smoke in the early afternoon and will likely see the heaviest concentrations as smoke pools in the Klamath this evening/overnight. Folks in the Illinois Valley, Applegate Valley, and Grants Pass can expect to see moderate to heavy smoke by early evening. Coastal communities will also experience moderate impact; however, light onshore flow should help. Models show some light improvement tomorrow; however, continued low wind speeds will likely result in stagnant conditions in interior valleys and the smoke that settles overnight will struggle to clear.

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Wednesday, September 23, 2020

Wildfire smoke outlooks for Oregon | Pronósticos de humo para Oregón


Find the latest smoke outlooks from the U.S. Wildland Fire Air Quality Response Program for fires in Oregon. 

Outlooks are updated daily at the links below:


*Outlooks are produced by Air Resource Advisors deployed to active fires by the U.S. Forest Service. For this reason, outlooks are not available for every area of the state.
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Tuesday, September 22, 2020

Air quality advisory through Wednesday for Southern Oregon and parts of Central Oregon

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality issued an air quality advisory Tuesday for Southern Oregon and south Central Oregon due to smoke from fires in Oregon and California.

** Información en español **

The following areas are affected:
  • Josephine, Jackson, Klamath and Lake counties through Wednesday.
  • Crook and Jefferson counties through Wednesday (intermittent smoke).
DEQ and partner agencies will continue to monitor smoke in these areas.

Although air quality has improved across much of the state since last week, areas near active fires, such as Cave Junction and Detroit, may continue to have smoke impacts.

Health officials encourage people to open up windows and begin clearing out their indoor air once smoke levels have dropped into moderate (yellow) and good (green) categories.

Smoke levels can change rapidly depending on weather. Check current conditions by visiting the Oregon Smoke Information Blog , downloading the free OregonAIR app on your smartphone, or going to on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Air Now.

Smoke can irritate the eyes and lungs and worsen some medical conditions. Young children, adults over 65, pregnant women and people with heart disease, asthma or other respiratory conditions are most at risk.

Protect your health when smoke levels are high:
  • Avoid outdoor activities and stay inside if possible. Keep windows and doors closed. Being indoors is safer than outdoors during periods of poor air quality.
  • Be aware of smoke in your area and avoid places with the highest levels.
  • Use high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters. These can be portable filters or can be installed in indoor heating, ventilation, cooling and air purification systems. You can also create your own air purifying filter by following these easy DIY air filter instructions .
  • If you have heart or lung disease or asthma, follow your healthcare provider’s advice.
Cloth, dust and surgical masks don’t protect from the harmful particles in smoke. N95 respirators that are tested to ensure proper fit and that are worn correctly may provide protection. Otherwise, they might just provide a false sense of security. They are not available in children’s sizes and are not recommended for strenuous activities. N95 respirators are in limited supply due to COVID-19. Additional information on wildfire smoke and COVID-19 can be found on the Centers for Disease Control webpage.

Emergency managers are discouraging travel to lessen the spread of COVID-19 while allowing firefighters and other emergency crews to remain focused on wildfire. Relief from wildfire smoke should be coming soon to most parts of Oregon.

DEQ’s color-coded Air Quality Index provides current air quality conditions and ranks air quality as follows: Green is good. Yellow is moderate. Orange is unhealthy for sensitive groups such as children, seniors, pregnant women and those with respiratory conditions. Red is unhealthy for everyone. Purple is very unhealthy for everyone. Maroon is hazardous.

Several highways and roads are closed around Oregon. Check TripCheck for the latest information.

Media contact: Dylan Darling, Oregon DEQ, 541-686-7997, dylan.darling@deq.state.or.us
or Harry Esteve, Oregon DEQ, 503-951-3856, harry.esteve@deq.state.or.us

Local contacts:
Josephine County: Jason Roberts, jroberts@co.josephine.or.us, 541-474-5151
Jackson County: Tanya Phillips, PhilliTF@jacksoncounty.org
Klamath County: Valeree Lane, vlane@klamathcounty.org
Lake County: Judy Clarke, jclarke@co.lake.or.us
Crook County: Vicky Ryan, vryan@h.co.crook.or.us
Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs: Tim Outman, tim.outman@ctwsbnr.org
The Klamath Tribes: Zak Jackson, zakary.jackson@klamathtribes.com, 541-783-2219, ext. 184

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