Air Quality





Air Quality Guide for Particle Pollution

Harmful particle pollution is one of our nation’s most common air pollutants. Use the chart below to help reduce your exposure and protect your health. For your local air quality forecast, visit www.airnow.gov.

Click here for a downloadable, printable version.













Smoke Outside? 

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Regional Smoke

Smoke from surrounding wildfires have engulfed Southwestern Oregon. According to the Air Quality Index, provided by the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). Public health officials have provided a Wildfire Smoke Guide advising residents to take the following precautions:
  • Be aware of smoke concentrations in your area and avoid the places with the highest concentrations.
  • Avoid smoke either by leaving the area or protecting yourself by staying indoors, and by closing windows and doors.
  • Avoid strenuous outdoor activity in smoky conditions.
  • People exposed to smoky conditions and who suffer from asthma or other respiratory problems should follow their breathing management plans or contact their healthcare providers.
  • Masks - If people must be outdoors, wearing a special mask called a "particulate respirator" can also help protect lungs from wildfire smoke. Dust masks that are not NIOSH-certified may not offer protection from small particulate matter, even if properly worn.
California Oregon Border Smoke information 

Oregon Department of Environmental Quality

The Air Quality Index is a color-coded tool that categorizes air quality daily. It tells you how clean or polluted your air is, and what associated health effects might be a concern for you. You can quickly assess statewide, or regional, air quality based on the color of the dots on a given map. 

How Does the AQI work?

Think of the AQI as a yardstick that runs from 0 to 500. The higher the AQI value, the greater the level of air pollution and the greater the health concern. The legend below shows the spectrum of Air Quality Ratings.


Visit the state's DEQ website, here, for current up-to-date air quality data, hourly data, past data and EPA index range and health category scale.

Oregon Smoke Blog Information

This website is an effort by many city, county, tribal, state and federal agencies to coordinate and aggregate information for communities impacted by wildfire smoke. Click on the image of the map below to visit an interactive map and the Oregon Smoke Blog Information website.





Oregon Wildfire Response Protocol for Severe Smoke Episodes


This protocol is intended to provide guidance for state and federal agencies in Oregon who respond to sever smoke episodes caused by large or long duration wildfires, to ensure a coordinated response, in order to mitigate impacts on public health.

The guidelines are focused specifically on smoke/air quality impacts, as compared to the safety risk posed by the fire itself, which is the highest priority when it comes to protecting the public from wildfire.

To view the protocol in its entirety, please click here.