Smoke from a large wildfire in southern Oregon is pushing north to the Willamette Valley.
That smoke remains high in the atmosphere during the day, but as things cool off after sunset, it starts to descend. Travis Knudsen with Lane Regional Air Protection Agency, or LRAPA, said that trend will likely continue over the next few days.
“We’re expecting to see impacts to our air quality mostly during the overnight hours and in the morning,” Knudsen said. “The impacts shouldn’t be too severe at this point. Air quality being more in that 'moderate' range on the air quality index as opposed to the 'good' range that we’re more accustomed to seeing.”
Knudsen says that may change with the wind and if there are more fires in the region. At this point, he doesn’t expect the air quality to worsen to where it’s considered unhealthy for sensitive groups, but if people feel it's affecting them, they should take steps to avoid the outdoor air.
To avoid the poorer air quality, remain inside as much as possible and keep windows and doors closed.
“You have a complete sort of closed seal on your home as best you can,” Knudsen said. “And if you have an air purifier with a HEPA filter, it's a great time to get that out, make sure it’s running. And we recommend to put it in the room that you’re spending most of your time in.”
Knudsen said those in sensitive groups include pregnant people, older adults, children, and people with cardiac or respiratory conditions.
He advised checking local air quality at fire.airnow.gov or lrapa.org.
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