Oregon DEQ issues air quality health advisory for multiple counties due to wildfire smoke

[00:00:00]Here's another live look at the Gorge east of the Dalles as air quality continues to decline. You can see the thick layer of smoke and haze out here from our camera on top of Stacker Butte.

[00:00:09]K2 is on your side to keep you and your family safe during this poor air quality. Here's the current map right now. Red is unhealthy, which you can see over Central Oregon. This area has improved throughout the day. Earlier today it was very unhealthy. Yellow is moderate. The coast was clear earlier, but now is also moderate. K2's Thumby Verma's live force at Rocky Butte in northeast Portland. Thumby, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality issued air quality advisory for the Portland metro area today.

[00:00:37]>> That's right. So, the advisory was put into effect today and it will be in effect until tomorrow night. The DEQ says wildfire smoke has made its way into the Portland metro and that's part of the issue. I do want to show you the haze behind me at the Cascades. That haze a lot worse than what we're seeing in the Portland metro. And you can even see that the mountains are kind of disappearing in the haze. And the Oregon DEQ wants you all to know that going to Mount Hood may not be a safe option.

[00:01:08]>> So, Portland is seeing a bit of wildfire smoke blow into the area. Unfortunately, we're seeing really bad air quality basically across the eastern portion of the state. So, everywhere east of the Cascades, we have a lot of wildfires on the landscape and we're seeing poor air quality from that wildfire smoke.

[00:01:24]>> And while that does not include the Portland metro area, there are still some consequences that impact us.

[00:01:31]>> So, in addition to just having that haze that Portland is seeing, the smoke is also contributing to ground level ozone.

[00:01:38]So, ozone can aggravate your respiratory system. So, at first people may just feel some chest pain, some coughing, some shortness of breath, but it can actually also aggravate existing conditions like asthma and make those worse.

[00:01:52]>> The DEQ says there could be an unhealthy amount of ozone pollution for sensitive groups, including children, pregnant people, older adults, and people with heart or respiratory conditions.

[00:02:03]>> And if you're able to stay indoors during the hottest parts of the day when ozone levels are going to be the highest, that will help alleviate some of those um health conditions.

[00:02:13]>> The DEQ also recommending that you limit activities that cause pollution, like driving.

[00:02:21]And if you do need to go outside, one tip from the Oregon DEQ is to wear a mask, an N95 mask, and that should limit some of that pollution that you'll inhale.

[00:02:31]>> Reporting live in Northeast Portland, Tanvi Verma, K2 News.

[00:02:34]>> Tanvi, thank you. Certainly has been an incredibly busy week and a half for fire crews all across the state of Oregon.

[00:02:41]The Department of Forestry says right now there are 31 task forces and strike teams assigned to different fires. We want to walk you through some of the biggest fires. The Hay Creek Fire Complex, this one's up here, is made up of at least five fires. It's burning in North Central Oregon, mostly in Sherman County, Gilliam County, southeast of The Dalles. The other big complex is the Row Creek Fire, this one's right here in Central Oregon, burning east and northeast of Madras.