A change in wind direction is carrying wildfire smoke from blazes in northern Oregon into the Willamette Valley. Air quality in sections of Lane County has climbed to “moderate” levels, which could be noticeable to people who are especially sensitive to air pollution.
The Air Quality Index, or AQI, uses a color-coded scale ranging from 0 to 500 to track air quality. Larger numbers reflect worse conditions, with dark red marking hazardous air. Readings up to 100 fall within the “moderate” range.
Haze is expected to keep filtering into the valley through the night and into Tuesday morning. The smoke should dissipate once winds swing back to the west later in the day, according to Matt Sorenson, spokesperson for the Lane Regional Air Protection Agency.
The source of the smoke is the Austin and Grasshopper fires, two large blazes still burning in the Mount Hood National Forest region. The Grasshopper Fire started roughly a month ago and has scorched more than 93,000 acres, the U.S. Forest Service reported.
The Austin Fire, which started a few weeks ago, has burned over 5,000 acres and remains 7% contained.
Counties north of Lane , including Clackamas, Marion, Linn and Multnomah , are expected to see the heaviest smoke.
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