Smoke from Anvil, Smith River fires drifted into Rogue Valley on Saturday
By Bert Etling, Ashland.news
Jackson County was added Saturday to an air quality advisory issued Friday by the state Department of Environmental Quality for Josephine and Curry counties. The advisory continues through Sunday night.
Smoke from the Anvil Fire east of Port Orford and Smith River Complex fires burning southwest of Cave Junction are drifting east into areas including the Rogue Valley and Ashland.
Smoke can irritate the eyes and lungs and worsen some medical conditions, the DEQ cautioned. People most at risk include infants and young children, people with heart or lung disease, older adults and pregnant people.
It’s recommended people stay inside if possible and keep windows and doors closed.
The air quality index (AQI) in Ashland deteriorated Saturday evening, crossing into the unhealthy for sensitive groups level (101-150) with a reading of 115 at 5 p.m., worsening to 135 at 6 p.m., and leveling off at 142, 142, 143 and 143 at 7, 8, 9 and 10 p.m. respectively.
A smoke forecast video on the website of the Medford office of the National Weather Service indicated conditions should improve through the night, possibly becoming somewhat worse Sunday afternoon before improving into the evening.
The NWS forecast for Ashland called for patchy smoke Sunday up to 9 p.m., with a 20% chance of thunderstorms after 3 p.m. continuing until midnight Sunday.
Current Ashland AQI readings are available on the city of Ashland SmokeWise page (click here) and on the Ashland.news home page in the right-hand column above the weather box (click here).
Email Ashland.news Executive Editor Bert Etling at betling@ashland.news or call or text him at 541-631-1313.
