Oregon Air Quality Degrades As Fires Make COVID-19 Fight Against: NPR

A man stops on his bike along the Willamette River as smoke from wildfires partially blocks a bridge over Tilikum in Portland, Oregon, Saturday.

John Locker / AP

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John Locker / AP

A man stops on his bike along the Willamette River as smoke from wildfires partially blocks a bridge over Tilikum in Portland, Oregon, Saturday.

John Locker / AP

Wildfires are devastating homes and communities on the West Coast, as well as creating some of the world’s worst air pollution in a region commonly known for its pristine life and stunning views. Fires and massive plumes of smoke are also affecting the fight to control COVID-19.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Air Quality Monitoring Website Airnow.gov Portland air is currently listed as “hazardous” Monday and the Air Quality Index ranged from From 350 to over 515.

“When the prognosis is purple (very unhealthy), everyone needs to cut back on outdoor activities,” the EPA website says. “Very unhealthy” air quality is forecast on Tuesday.

“It’s a bit surreal,” says Dr. Jennifer Vines, a leading health professional in the Portland metro area, “to have all these public health exacerbating issues, air quality risks and a pandemic.

Health experts are urging residents to stay indoors to avoid inhaling smoke and ash particles from unprecedented fires.

International Air Quality Monitoring Site IQAir.com ranks Portland as the number one city in the world for air quality – worse than the notoriously polluted places in countries such as India, China and Israel. Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles are also in the top ten, reflecting the sheer size of wildfires and their massive impact.

Dozens of major fires have burned more than 4.6 million acres, according to data National Interagency Fire Center… This includes over 1.5 million acres in Oregon and Washington, Northwest Coordination Center is talking.

The smoke from forest fires can be fatal. Although it often looks like a large cloud, Vines says the smoke is made up of many tiny particles, each much smaller than the diameter of a human hair, and, she adds, “These particles can penetrate deep into the lungs and even cross. into the bloodstream. “

Elderly people and people with lung or heart disease are at greatest risk. Children are also at greater risk, Wines said, “because they breathe in more air than their body size and because their airways are smaller.”

Wildfires are also complicating Oregon’s COVID-19 strategies.

Before the fires, health workers urged people to go outside, but now they have canceled that advice. COVID testing rates have dropped. And as people avoid danger, many of them also communicate indoors.

“In the coming weeks, we will be monitoring COVID test counts and hospital throughput very closely,” says Vines. She adds, “But I think nowadays a lot of us are just driving day after day,” trying to keep people safe.

To make matters worse, Vines says, “These are the same people who are at a higher risk of complications from smoke from wildfires and COVID. We know that many of them in the Portland area are black, indigenous or colored people. “

OSHA encourages employers to provide N-95 masks if asked to work. If employees have underlying medical conditions, the agency asks to be allowed to stay at home.

On Monday, the National Weather Service released a thick smoke and fog report for the northern Oregon coast, which said visibility would drop to 50 feet.