Wildfire smoke has become a recurring health concern in the Columbia River Gorge. The 2020 Labor Day fires brought hazardous air quality levels to the region, breaking previous records. In 2017, the Eagle Creek Fire also blanketed the Gorge in smoke. Since 2013, the area has recorded at least 33 official days of unsafe air quality due to wildfire smoke.
By building a locally relevant monitoring system and raising awareness about air quality, OSU Extension and its partners are helping the Gorge community prepare for smoke — and protect public health.
The biggest health risk from smoke comes from fine particulate matter — microscopic particles called PM 2.5 that can penetrate deep into the lungs. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, these particles can trigger a range of health problems, from eye irritation and sore throats to worsened heart and lung conditions, as well as long term impacts to cognitive health.
Wildfires aren’t the only source of smoke in the Gorge. Agricultural practices also contribute. Cherry and pear orchards — common across the region — generate wood waste that is often burned in large slash piles. Smoke from this kind of burning may release a host of chemicals into the atmosphere. Management of public and private forestland includes thinning and prescribed burns as well.
Also, most of the counties in the Gorge are rural and there aren’t regulations on wood stoves, which also contribute to smoke during the fall, winter and spring.
Until 2020, the region relied on a single air quality monitor — located in The Dalles — to assess air conditions across an 80-mile stretch that spans six counties and microclimates. A second monitor was added in Hood River in August 2020. But because monitors typically provide accurate data only within a small radius, two monitors weren’t enough to represent the region’s many microclimates, shifting wind patterns, and weather inversions.
In response, Oregon State University Extension Service in the Columbia Gorge worked with local partners to improve the community’s ability to monitor and respond to smoke events. Collaborators include the Hood River Soil and Water Conservation District, the Healthy Community Collective and Wasco County. Together, they secured four grants:
- $104,000 from the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to research and implement alternatives to outdoor burning and other smoke mitigation strategies.
- $80,000 from Oregon DEQ to develop a regional community response plan for smoke.
- $40,000 from the OSU ASPIRE Center to purchase additional indoor and outdoor monitors for all K-12 schools in Hood River and Wasco counties.
- $10,000 from the OHSU Knight Cancer Institute to purchase, install and maintain 10 new air quality monitors.
With this funding, the team installed more than 50 monitors in schools and orchards across Hood River and Wasco counties. The network connects to a public website that updates air quality readings every five minutes.
The website features monitoring maps, seasonal sources of smoke, a preparedness checklist, and other information about how to monitor and prepare for smoke and get signed up for regional emergency alerts. These real-time data help build air quality literacy — starting with partners, frontline workers, community health advocates and youth.
Lauren Kraemer, associate professor of practice in OSU Extension’s Family and Community Health Program in the College of Health, introduced the new monitoring system to 175 seventh-grade students at Hood River Middle School, where one of the monitors is installed. Students learned about air quality, particulate matter and data interpretation, and will help develop messages for smoke-sensitive groups.
The expanded network helps communities respond faster and with greater accuracy. Real-time data allow employers, school administrators, residents and visitors to make informed decisions about outdoor activities, operations and recreation based on local air conditions — not regional estimates.
By building a locally relevant monitoring system and raising awareness about air quality, OSU Extension and its partners are helping the Gorge community prepare for smoke — and protect public health.
