Central Oregon air quality suffers from smoke, DEQ issues advisory

Published 11:01 am Monday, August 24, 2020

Smoke filled the air around Central Oregon on Monday as crews continued to fight several wildfires in the region ahead of hot conditions and thunderstorms on the way.

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality issued an air quality advisory for many parts of the state Monday, including Deschutes and Jefferson counties. The same day, the National Weather Service issued a red flag warning, indicating high temperatures with “abundant lightning and gusty outflow winds” to last through Tuesday night.

The air advisory, set to last through at least Wednesday night, encourages those in high-risk groups to take precautions against the poor air quality.

Bend, Madras and La Pine all saw air quality that was “unhealthy for sensitive groups” Monday afternoon, according to DEQ data. Redmond, Sisters and Prineville saw slightly better ratings of “moderate.”

Smoky air raises extra concerns for high-risks populations this year, with the COVID-19 pandemic complicating symptoms and the availability of face masks. Smoke may worsen COVID-19 symptoms and increase susceptibility to the virus, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Seniors, young children and those with respiratory or heart conditions should avoid strenuous outdoor activity and consider using air filters and N95 face masks, the advisory says.

While they are effective against transmission of COVID-19, cloth and surgical masks don’t protect against the particles found in smoke.

Much of the smoke in Oregon comes from California, where more than 1.1 million acres have been burned by hundreds of wildfires across the state. Some parts of Central Oregon are impacted by area wildfires too, said Laura Gleim, a spokesperson for the Department of Environmental Quality.

About 12 miles north of Sisters, the Green Ridge Fire was burning at 4,348 acres Monday afternoon and was about 13% contained, according to information from Oregon Department of Forestry Team 3, which took over the response to the fire Sunday.

More than 100 recreational homes in the Camp Sherman area are threatened by the fire about 2 miles away, according to Lisa Clark, a Bureau of Land Management spokesperson and fire information officer for the Green Ridge Fire.Over the weekend, crews performed a burn-out operation on around 100 acres on the fire’s west side, bringing it off the steep side of Green Ridge to a flatter, “more defendable spot,” Eric Perkins, operations section chief for Team 3, said in a video update Monday.

More than 500 personnel are responding to the fire, including seven aircraft and more than a dozen engines. Areas around the fire remain subject to a Level 1 “be ready” evacuation warning, and some U.S. Forest Service roads remain closed. The section previously under a Level 2 “get set” warning was downgraded to Level 1 Monday.

The Frog Fire in the Maury Mountains east of the Prineville Reservoir was 35% contained Monday, according to the Northwest Incident Management Team 8. The fire is burning around 4,000 acres. No evacuations have been put in place around the Frog Fire, though some roads have been closed, as have the Forest Service lands west of Forest Road 17 in the Maury Mountains.

“Things are looking really good,” said Mark Rapp, operations section chief for the team managing that fire. “We’re making good progress on the perimeter of the fire.”

With a busy fire season around the country, Frog Fire crews have faced some challenges accessing resources tied up with other fires, according to Jaimie Olle, public information officer.