Familiar haze: Wildfire smoke once again impacting Central Oregon’s air quality
(Update: Adding video, comment from E::Space Labs, Mosaic Medical)
AQI readings rose to "unhealthy" over weekend as wildfires broke out
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Mt Bachelor? Blocked. The Three Sisters? Shrouded. Mount Jefferson? Hard to spot.
It is not the crystal-clear view visitors to Pilot Butte are used to.
Brooke O'Brien, who is visiting Bend from Southern California this week, said Monday, "I mean, it is a bummer, because you expect coming to Oregon things to be really clear."
Smoke and haze have returned to Central Oregon from the fire burning on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation, but it's something we're used to. So it’s already time to start thinking again about air quality.
David Robson, a co-founder of E::Space Labs, told NewsChannel 21, "Really ,the last time we saw any serious smoke was when we had what I called the 'smoke-demic' in August and September of last year."
E::Space Labs has a network of about 30 air quality sensors around Central Oregon.
Air quality is measured with the AQI index. Anything under 50 is considered good. Readings in Bend and Prineville peaked near 170 on Sunday.
"We didn't get a heavy amount, but we did get enough to make it into the slightly hazardous level," Robson said.
Last September, numbers were off the scale, over 500.
Diana Burden, medical director for Mosaic Medical's clinics in Madras and Prineville, said their clinics saw an increase in patients related to the smoke.
"A lot of times, people will experience a kind of throat irritation, like a sore throat,” Burden said. “Some people who have underlying respiratory conditions might have some increases in coughing or shortness of breath."
Now that fire season has started, she said it's especially important to check air quality monitors, like E::Space’s.
The smoke has subsided some, for now -- enough not to completely ruin photos taken from popular spots like Bend's Pilot Butte.
"It does cover up a bit of the view, but it's still beautiful," O’Brien said.
