Wildfire smoke shifts plans for some C.O. residents and visitors; others stay the course

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- The wildfire smoke cloaking much of the region is forcing some visitors to Central Oregon to change their plans. But for the most part, people are moving ahead with their activities, as tourists continue to enjoy Bend in big numbers. 

"We're going to do inside things today, like maybe go to the museum, and hope that it gets better," Beaverton resident Lori Bocklund said Thursday.

Visitors to Bend from Beaverton are making the best of their visit, despite the haze over the High Desert.

 On Thursday, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality and Lane Regional Air Protection Agency extended an air quality alert for Deschutes County through at least next Monday night.

Visit Bend President and CEO Kevney Dugan said, "A lot of the times, you can escape it. We have a lot of visitors asking us 'We want to do this, we noticed it was really smoky. What are the other options?'"

At Visit Bend, they're advising visitors to perhaps drive the 90 miles south to Crater Lake or travel north to Smith Rock.

On average, there are about 20,000 visitors a day in the city, with summer being the busiest season.  

Dugan said, "We're expecting sort of standard ,year after year -- the same amount of visitors we saw last year. That's what we're really seeing this year. So in general, the industry remains healthy and doing well." 

Sunriver Resort representatives said Thursday that all pools were open, outdoor activities were happening and there had been no impact on bookings from the wildfires or smoke. They added we're hopeful it will stay that way.

Tourists like Lori Bocklund and Mike Mulligan are hopeful as well that skies will clear before it's time to head home.  

Bocklund said, "We still hope to do some cycling."

Mulligan responded, "That's really probably getting in some few hikes going on, going to High Desert Museum, out to Sparks Lake. So, yeah, hopefully it clears up so we can go do those things."

Bocklund added, "He's a big photographer, too. So we were hoping to have some nice skies to shoot some photos."

 To combat the smoke, people are advised wear N-95 masks to offer protection, and try to stay inside if possible.