Last
night, the burnout operation to secure the east perimeter of the fire west of
Oakridge was completed. This burnout combined with continued burning of
interior islands resulted in an additional 430 acres of fire growth through
yesterday’s shift. Some of the smoke from yesterday descended on Cottage Grove
and resulted in hazy conditions in the afternoon. Smoke also flowed down the
Deception creek drainage impacting the Westfir community last night. Oakridge
conditions remained good throughout the day and night times.
Today’s winds will switch to southwest this afternoon and if conditions are right, the burn team will begin burnout operations on the west perimeter. Smoke is forecast to disperse as far as Eugene where some hazy conditions can be anticipated. In the late afternoon winds switch to southwest moving smoke to the north and north east. Warm temperatures and atmospheric instability will loft the majority of this smoke over the Oakridge area but some smoke may settle in Oakridge overnight. We forecast the air quality to reach “Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups” in Westfir as smoke vents down the Deception Creek drainage this afternoon, and “Moderate” for Oakridge into the evening as smoke pools with cooling temperatures.
Air Quality Forecast for Saturday (Particulate
Matter less than 2.5 µm in diameter)
Site
|
Saturday Morning
Sep 6, 2014
|
Saturday Afternoon
Sep 6, 2014
|
Saturday Evening
Sep 6, 2014
|
Oakridge
|
Moderate
|
Good
|
Moderate
|
Westfir
|
Moderate
|
Good
|
Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups
|
Dexter
|
Good
|
Good
|
Good
|
24 hour average PM 25.5 concentration for Saturday September 6, 2014
Deception Complex
