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Wildfire smoke pushes Oregon's air quality into ‘unhealthy’ zone
An air quality alert was issued Friday morning, warning that smoke will continue to impact portions of Central Oregon through Monday night.
Multiple wildfires burning across Oregon, along with smoke drifting in from Canadian fires, are expected to bring unhealthy to very unhealthy air quality to parts of the state this weekend, according to the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ).
An air quality alert was issued Friday morning, warning that smoke will continue to impact portions of Central Oregon through Monday night. Similar alerts have also been issued across the Upper Midwest due to heavy smoke from Canadian wildfires.
Areas affected
Counties under the advisory include Crook, Deschutes, and Jefferson, with impacted cities such as:
Prineville, Post, Paulina, Bend, Redmond, Sunriver
Sisters, La Pine, Brothers, Madras, Warm Springs, and Culver.
"A Smoke Air Quality Advisory has been issued," the alert said. "Wildfires burning in the region combined with forecasted conditions will cause air quality to reach unhealthy levels."
Also Read: Smoke from Everglades wildfire chokes South Florida, prompts warnings across Broward County
Air quality
According to Newsweek, the Air Quality Index (AQI) near Sisters, Oregon was expected to be around 176, categorized as “unhealthy.”
However, the website oregonsmoke.org showed AQI levels as high as 281, which falls into the “very unhealthy” range.
Health warnings issued
Environmental officials are advising residents to limit outdoor activity and be aware of potential symptoms from smoke exposure, including:
Burning eyes
Runny nose
Coughing
Difficulty breathing
More severe impacts, such as heart and lung complications, are also possible, especially for vulnerable populations including children, seniors, and those with pre-existing respiratory conditions.
Also Read: Spain, Portugal order mass evacuation of residents as wildfires rage
Flat Fire
Flat Fire broke out Thursday west of Culver in Central Oregon. The blaze had grown to 3,386 acres with 0% containment as of Friday afternoon, prompting evacuation notices.
The evacuation zone stretches from Lake Billy Chinook to just outside of Sisters. As of 2 p.m. Friday, the city of Sisters was not included an in an evacuation zone.
A evacuation shelter has been set up at the Highland Baptist Church at 3100 SW Highland Ave. in Redmond.
