‘The sky was very apocalyptic’: Downtown Bend businesses, visitors talk about our smoky conditions

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Several days of this lingering smoky haze are taking a toll on people and businesses in downtown Bend. 

Smoke from the recent wildfires, like the Little Lava and Backside fires, have become a new if troubling normal for residents.

 But of visitors like Laney Conger, from Montana, she finds the smoke troubling. 

"Had to reroute a lot of times because of the fires," Conger said Tuesday. "Even in Bend, it's very smoky. When I was driving, there was a lot of ash in the sky, was very apocalyptic."

An AQI (Air Quality Index) of 151 to 200 is considered unhealthy, and much of the Bend area has been hovering in the unhealthy air quality range for four days.

Businesses in downtown Bend are seeing varying levels of foot traffic. 

"We've been really busy the whole time," said Olivia Mackanich, Thump Coffee downtown's assistant manager. "Obviously, we have an indoor eating area, so everyone's been coming in and having coffee and just getting away from smoke, honestly."

Pegasus Books of Bend store clerk Ash Cooper said, "Not very many people out on the streets. I don't think very many people want to breathe in the smoke. It is pretty inescapable. It is everywhere. But yeah, super-quiet."

Despite the recent smoke and ash in the air, some people in Bend are still eager to explore downtown, trying to get some time outdoors.

Bend resident Tim Kuhn said, "We try to get out early, and we just got desperate and we needed to get out. This isn't necessarily a good day to be out, but as we've been kind of the last couple of days with the problem with smoke, we decided we're going to go out."

Deschutes County Health Services says it's important to be smoke ready, following a checklist.

Bend resident Dennis Oshea said, "We tend to eat indoors at lunchtime and dinnertime more often. Now we have to keep the windows closed more often. It's really quite the change in our lifestyle, something that I don't see a solution for."

For more health tips on wildfire smoke, you can visit the Deschutes County Health Services' website.