Wildfire smoke from across the Pacific Northwest entered the Portland Metro area this weekend leading health officials to extend a mandatory wood burning restriction for Multnomah County residents today, Monday, Oct. 10. This restriction does not apply to cooking. Exemptions are available for those in emergency situations.
Today, the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has also issued an air quality advisory for continuous smoke in the Portland metro area. Conditions are expected to vary with intermittent smoke getting trapped in the area through Friday.
Health officials will be monitoring the situation with County partners. The air quality burn restriction will be lifted when conditions improve. Burn restrictions are posted at multco.us/woodsmokestatus. This is the second wood-burning restriction this month – also called a red day – and the seventh since the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners extended the County’s wood smoke curtailment ordinance year-round in February 2022.
As air quality has worsened over the last few days, the Multnomah County Health Department issued voluntary burning advisories on Oct. 7 and 8, and a mandatory burn restriction on Oct. 9. Today, Oct. 10, most of Multnomah County is in the moderate (yellow) and Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups (orange) air quality index (AQI) categories.
Protect your health and reduce pollution indoors by turning on your air filter or learn how to build one. Visit multco.us/wildfiresmoke to learn more.
Source: Multnomah County