Smoke reaches hazardous levels

Agencies throughout the Columbia River Gorge are responding to hazardous smoke blanketing the region and much of the state.

Citizen Alerts were sent to residents of Wasco County Friday and Saturday, warning of hazardous air quality due to thick wildfire smoke and informing residents that protective KN-95 masks were being made available at distribution sites throughout the county Friday and Saturday.

A dense smoke advisory issued by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration remains in effect through Monday, Sept. 14. The advisory warns of visibility of 1/4 mile or less at times in dense smoke.

Due to the poor air quality, Wasco County with the assistance of Mosier, The Dalles, Maupin, Tygh Valley, Wamic and Dufur began handing out KN-95 masks Friday. Wamic Rural Fire Protection District distributed masks Friday night, as did Dufur at the Dufur School parking lot and Maupin at city hall. Masks were made available in TyghValley at the Tygh Valley Store during business hours, the Moiser Post Office Friday night, and Walters Corner Store for Juniper Flats and Pine Grove during business hours.

The smoke advisory was issued statewide, and was extended Monday to continue through Thursday evening, Sept. 17.

According to state smoke maps, The Dalles, Hood River and White Salmon had a pollution raiing of "Hazardous," with some of the highest readings in the state on Monday morning.

Evacuees welcomed

Both Wasco and Hood River counties are also making evacuation sites available for those seeking to evacuate fires in Clackamas County and elsewhere in the state. Evacuation areas in Wasco County are Riverfront Park and Tygh Valley Fairgrounds. In Hood River County, The Port of Hood River has opened several of its waterfront sites in Hood River. Lot 1, the Event Site, the Marina Boat Launch parking lot, and the DMV parking lot are all open for overnight parking for evacuees.

Those venturing outdoors are encouraged to wear KN-95 masks, which filter out small particulates. Those with respiratory illnesses should remain indoors to avoid inhaling smoke. If driving, slow down, use your headlights, and leave plenty of distance ahead of you.

Partners respond with masks and other smoke relief

by Kirby Neumann-Rea

The Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) announced Friday it is extending the closure of all of the lands it manages east of the Cascades to recreation due to high fire danger through Sept. 17. DNR staff this week will evaluate the possibility of extending the closure, enacted Tuesday.

The 12,000-acre Big Hollow Fire is currently burning east and north of the Trapper Creek Wilderness on the Mt. Adams Ranger District, 15 miles northwest of Carson in Skamania County, according to Gifford Pinchot National Forest officials. The fire started on Sept. 8, cause unknown, and fire officials gave an Oct. 10 estimated containment date. Fuels are timber litter and understory, grass and logging slash. Recreation areas in Gifford Pinchot are closed.

Hood River County has issued a temporary full closure of county forest lands due to extreme fire danger and the shortage of firefighting resources in the region. The closure includes the county forest, forest roads and recreational trails until further notice, citing extreme fire risk, weather and wind events, plus a dangerous lack of resources.

For the Gorge, the National Weather Service is predicting some relief from the smoke by Wednesday.

Local partners provided evacuation sites for people getting away from western Oregon fires, as well as masks and other supplies to unhoused residents, according to Barb Ayers, Hood River County Emergency Services director. Hood River County and Hood River Shelter Services worked with local grocery stores to serve as distribution points for about 100 masks. “We were really concerned for people without a place, in this smoke,” Ayers said.

With orchardists concerned about their workers’ health, Columbia Gorge Fruit Growers distributed hundreds of KN-95 masks over the weekend to orchardists to help workers picking fruit in the smoke. Mike Doke, Fruit Growers’ executive director, noted that the measure comes on the heels of extra steps already taken due to COVID-19.

Critical wildfire danger and ongoing fires in the area warranted the extension of the DNR closure, as Labor Day saw a rash of new fires ignite statewide.

Meanwhile, Hood River County Board of Commissioners closed all its lands to recreation, in a special meeting Friday. For updates on fires, smoky conditions or evacuation orders, visit GetReadyGorge.com or find updates on the Sheriff’s Office Facebook page, facebook.com/hrcso.

Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz, the elected official who oversees DNR, said, “Hundreds of thousands of acres of land have burned since Monday, and our resources are fully deployed. But we cannot risk having more human-caused fires right now. I know how important hunting season is to so many Washingtonians, but we are in the middle of a historic wildfire event.”

The below-normal precipitation and above-normal temperatures regions is forecast to continue, with the hot and dry weather further extending the risk of large wildfires. With no lightning this week or in the forecast for the next few days, the majority of wildfires DNR is responding to are presumed to be human-caused. The agency has responded to more than 100 fires caused by recreation this year. DNR will announce the reopening of lands when it again becomes safe.

Over the weekend, Port of Hood River opened up several of its parking lots for anyone needing refuge, and set up sanitation stations. The Hood River County Fairgrounds and one local church also made space available.

“We asked them to set up like we did with Eagle Creek (2017) with porta potties and handwashing,” at a total of nine evacuation sites, according to Ayers.

The church became a place of refuge for 17 families, including two with infants. At least six campers stayed on port property Saturday but as many as 15 people were there Thursday night. At the fairgrounds, 17 people and 18 horses came to stay the weekend, with some remaining Monday.

“We try to have the key partners do their thing, and support them as much as we can,” Ayers said, adding that while the local partners worked together to prepare, “we thought we would get inundated” at evacuation sites. But we didn’t see quite as many as we thought we would, which is a good thing, as there were probably quite a few (evacuation sites) in the metro area, and for a lot of people they want to be in safest place possible and as close as possible to their homes, so perhaps they would have found that without driving an extra hour out to the Gorge,” Ayers said.

White Salmon mayor takes emergency measures

White Salmon Mayor Marla Keethler issued a proclamation Monday, Sept. 14, declaring a state of emergency due to poor air quality and fire hazards.

The city faces a double threat: White Salmon’s air quality specifically has been recorded at various points in recent days as the highest level in the world, as well as the region; and there are limited city firefighters and public safety personnel available, according to the declaration.

"Extreme conditions and likely demands placed on firefighting and other public safety resources in the event of a local wildfire event make it necessary that extraordinary measures be taken to prevent and reduce the risk of wildfires within the city, and to suppress any fires that may occur," the proclamation states.

In response, the proclamation orders all outdoor activities that could cause a fire are immediately suspended, including but not limited to backyard fires, barbecues, candles, and gas or electric yard/construction equipment that creates sparks.

The proclamations also order "that all citizens refrain from visiting city parks, natural areas, and/or trails during this time of extreme fire danger and hazardous air quality.

"It is recommended that all citizens refrain from non-essential outdoor activities," the order states.

The emergency proclamation was set to expire Oct. 1 or when the risk is abated, whichever occurs first, and will be confirmed by the White Salmon City Council at the next regularly scheduled city council meeting.

Masks distributed across West Klickitat County

By Jacob Bertram

As the smoke rolled in over the Columbia River Gorge this weekend, residents in West Klickitat County found help had arrived in the form of KN95 masks, thanks to coordination by community leaders.

Debi Budnick, Community Health and Outreach Coordinator with Skyline Health, had begun looking into the availability of masks by Friday in an effort to prepare the public for the smoke cover soon to come, looming over the region from ongoing wildfires. By Saturday, Budnick said, Klickitat County Emergency Operations Center had sent 500 KN95 masks to Skyline Hospital, many of which were then distributed across the community.

“Because of COVID restrictions, we were not able to have the general public come into our facility to pick these up. Additionally, we wanted to make sure our most vulnerable and housing compromised community members received a mask. To complicate things further, since it was a Saturday most public service offices were closed,” Budnick told Columbia Gorge News in an email.

Coordinating with Budnick, the Bingen-White Salmon Police Department dispatched an officer to distribute a case of 200 KN95 masks to destinations across town, including the trailer parks, Rhine Village, and the shelter and a nearby shelter.

Another 50 masks each went to North Shore Medical Group, Bingen Food Bank, Dickey Farms, and Riggleman’s Fruit, Budnick said.

50 of the masks remain, which they plan to save for high-risk individuals visiting the Emergency Room or clinic.