Portland now has the worst air quality in the world, due to Oregon and Washington wildfires

[brooklynite]

Source: The Oregonian

The air quality monitoring website IQAir.com, which ranks air pollution across nearly 100 cities internationally, elevated Portland Friday to its No. 1 position -- as in the worst, with an overall air quality index of 239. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s website listed Portland’s measurement Friday as even higher, at 349.

Portland is followed on IQAir.com’s ranking by other West Coast cities also plagued by wildfires. San Francisco is No. 2 with an air quality index of 186 and Seattle was No. 3 was a 172 on Friday morning.



A measurement of 0 or 50 is considered good, 50 to 100 is moderate, 100 to 150 is unhealthy for sensitive groups and over 150 is unhealthy for everyone. Levels of 300 to 500 are deemed hazardous.



Read more: https://www.oregonlive.com/news/2020/09/portland-now-has-the-worst-air-quality-in-the-world-due-to-oregon-and-washington-wildfires.html

[trueblue2007]

1. air is horrible !!!!! WE ARE KEEPING ALL OF OUR WINDOWS AND DOORS SHUT.

WE ARE KEEPING ALL OF OUR WINDOWS AND DOORS SHUT. No air conditioning either. The air burns eyes and our throat. Hubby and I stay inside all day.

the air stinks to high heaven !!!!

[trueblue2007]

3. we are over by jubitz and portland airport.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

10. Why no air conditioning? A/C doesn't move air into and out of your house,

unless you've got a kind I don't know about.

[Violet_Crumble]

15. There's no reason why you can't run your air conditioner...

The smoke particles are going to get into your home through gaps in your windows and doors. It was so bad here early this year that I woke up one morning to a haze of smoke clinging to my ceiling. That's when I went out to Bunnings and armed myself with insulation stuff and sorted out the gaps in my windows and doors. While your a/c isn't as effective at filtering out the particles as the big commercial ones, it's not going to do you any harm either, and if it's stinking hot in the house, you should run it.

https://www.choice.com.au/home-and-living/cooling/air-purifiers/articles/keeping-smoke-and-pollutants-out-of-your-home

Stay safe, and I hope things get under control there soon...

[peoli]

2. Eugene at 437 and Salem at 456

This is unreal except it not.

[MizLibby]

8. Salem OR is now 501, AirNow says 'BEYOND INDEX'

[central scrutinizer]

9. 501 in Sisters

401 in Eugene at 1:00 pm pdt

http://www.lrapa.org/216/Todays-Current-Air-Quality

[FreeState]

19. 510 in Portland right now :/ n/t

[ananda]

4. Geez!

I have friends and family in SF, Portland, and WA.

I just checked in to see if they're OK...

[RockRaven]

5. Big caveat with any of these numbers is the time period involved.

Depending on the source, you could be looking at an instantaneous reading, a 10 min average, a 30 min average, a 1 hr average, a 24 hr average, a weekly average, etc.

Lists comparing cities, like this one, presumably use the same time period to generate the list so they are fine for comparisons, as far as that goes. But is also just a snapshot of a very dynamic situation.

I can tell you from watching the readings myself that the AQI in parts of San Francisco yesterday was well above 300 for much of the day. And as noted in other posts, there are other cities throughout the West which are getting readings even higher for days at a time.

[MissB]

6. Sadly it's socked in here

It’s just awful with little hope for change before maybe Monday or Tuesday.

[IronLionZion]

7. That city just can't catch a break

with the protests, Trump's goons, and now wildfires

I wish I could send some of our rain out west. It's wet out here

[Nululu]

11. 500,000 evacuated in Oregon

Wildfires force 500,000 to flee in Oregon, roads clog with cars in Oregon City

by KATU Staff

Friday, September 11th 2020


A line of vehicles filled with people fleeing the wildfires in Clackamas County can be seen in Oregon City on Thursday, Sept. 10, 2020. (KATU)

PORTLAND, Ore. —

About 500,000 people in Oregon have been forced evacuate because of wildfires raging in the state, the Oregon Office of Emergency Management said Thursday.

Nearly 1,000,000 acres of land are ablaze across the state, spewing thick, gray and orange clouds of smoke into the air.

The fires have exhausted the state’s resources, OEM Director Andrew Phelps said, forcing the state to reach out to other emergency management agencies across the country.

“Our Oregon firefighters and the emergency management community have been fully engaged on these devastating fires, including the many first responders who have been personally affected by the evacuations, power outages and destruction. Their efforts, stamina and response are nothing short of heroic,” said Phelps in a news release. “We can all do our part to support them by staying informed,

[Nululu]

12. We received a emergency evacuation text

They had an an evacuation in Camas. Pray for those losing everything.

We haves friends with a farm in Mollalla and hope they're okay and got all their goats and llamas out.

[BadGimp]

13. It's horrible here in Portland...

I left San Fran Wed AM and drove all the way to Portland.

On the way, I drove through the smoke from the N Cal fires (umg), and then through the Tenent, Phenix Oregon aftermath and into the smoke from the fires near Portland.

A total hellscape.

And to think I was freaked about Murder Bees.

[roman88]

14. Some drastic measures may need to be made

I don't think those towns lost should be rebuilt. Clean the land, plant new trees and let it be...

[Hekate]

17. Just like we do after hurricanes, tornados, and floods. Right?

[Hekate]

16. I hope every man, woman, & child is able to get an N95 mask...

We originally got ours during a regional fire — a relief organization was actually giving them out. They mitigate the fine particulate matter from the smoke.

Portland’s situation sounds so bad, though, that it sounds like anybody who’s able should just pack up the kids and go as far away as possible.