Wildfire season is officially over, but for Oakridge residents, that doesn’t necessarily mean the air will clear up anytime soon.
Sarah Altemus-Pope works with the Oakridge Air project, a five-year program funded by an EPA grant. Project staff have observed heavy smoke from the Cedar Creek Fire for months.
With the fall rains finally here, what’s her assessment?
“Our air quality is probably close to seven times better.”
But fall and winter’s clammy weather drives many locals to fire up their woodburning stoves. Altemus-Pope urges them to avoid burning green wood, wood that’s not been dried for at least six months, preferably longer.
“When you burn wet wood, the moisture in the wood creates more smoke, beyond 2.5 particulate matter, which will create more smoke here in the community,” she said.
Travis Knudsen of the Lane Regional Air Protection Agency, agreed that there needs to be awareness in burning properly seasoned wood.
”Also not using any prohibited materials like trash and other items in your wood stove. So plastic of course, any form of cardboard.”
There are no commercial vendors in Oakridge, but Oakridge Air helps coordinate the sale of seasoned firewood at-cost to locals.
Update on air purifiers
Recently, KLCC reported on an initiative to distribute air purifiers to Oakridge and Westfir residents on Medicare and Medicaid.
Altemus-Pope has helped coordinate that effort through Oakridge Air and regional partners. She said over the last six weeks, they’ve had a successful distribution of purifiers in a region blanketed by both wildfire and woodstove smoke nearly year-round.
”Working with Oregon Health Authority and Department of Human Services and Emergency Management, we distributed over 1100 air purifiers to citizens here locally.”
Altemus-Pope said there are still about a hundred air purifiers left, and people can contact Oakridge Air on how to get one.
Oakridge and Westfir residents with sensitive medical conditions or children are priority.
©2022, KLCC.
