September 2020 Oregon Air Quality Index
(time lapse)
Video courtesy of Chris Ringo
Before wildfire strikes
Keeping your home and property safe from wildfire
A defensible space and fuel reduction guide for homeowners and landowners (2017). Help for homeowners who want to reduce the wildfire risk around their homes or on their forest property by creating defensible space.
Land Steward online training
It's time to get ready for fire season
During a wildfire
Wildfires make a profound impact on people, land, animals, environment and the economy. As the population continues to increase, homes and communities expand to new rural boundaries and fires become more a part of the changing ...
Small Farms, Local Food, and Wildfires
Resources and referrals gathered about current wildfire evacuation and air quality information and livestock and produce safety during and after disasters.
Reducing Health Effects of Wildfire Smoke
Wildfires and severe smoke can create dangerous conditions for people, especially those with chronic health conditions. Learn about current wildfires, wildfire smoke conditions, and what you can do to reduce the health effects of wildfire smoke.
Caring for animals affected by wildfire
The OSU Carlson College of Veterinary Medicine is providing veterinary care to animals affected by the Oregon wildfires, and offers many links related to animals and the effects of fire and smoke on them.
Video: Mobilizing to save livestock during Oregon wildfires
OSU Extension 4-H volunteers work to provide care and shelter for animals.
Goats, llamas, tortoise: All are welcome, some are stressed as fairgrounds become evacuation centers (NW News Network)
Erica McKenzie, a large-animal veterinarian with Oregon State University, says the same smoke that’s unhealthy for humans can make large animals sick too. McKenzie says the stress of moving, being exposed to new animals, new people and new food can be dangerous.
Oregon State closing many statewide facilities due to wildfires (KVAL)
Oregon State University is closing Wednesday afternoon many of its facilities statewide until further notice due to prolonged smoke and ash conditions from numerous wildfires in the Pacific Northwest.
OSU Extension again to distribute masks for farmworkers
Oregon State University's Extension Service in Clackamas County will once again hand out masks for farmworkers, this time for helping prevent smoke inhalation from wildfires. OSU Extension staff, Northwest Family Services, the Oregon City Rotary Club and volunteers distributed a total of 7,000 masks to migrant workers and agricultural producers.
Volunteers help evacuate animals from wildfires
Lindsay Davis, the office manager for the Oregon State University Extension Service in Clatsop County, said the office decided to help the volunteers coordinate the evacuation. She functioned as a dispatcher, making calls, checking Facebook pages and other sources to tell volunteers where to go and where to deliver the animals.
Statewide Heroes
We recognize the countless heroes across this state who are helping their communities impacted by unprecedented fires and smoke.
After a wildfire
Wildfires make a profound impact on people, land, animals, environment and the economy. As the population continues to increase, homes and communities expand to new rural boundaries and fires become more a part of the changing ...
Take precautions when wildfire ash falls on fruits and vegetables
Wildfires can be unsafe when it lands on unharvested produce.
Is it safe to eat my garden produce affected by wildfires?
Q: We have a lot of smoke in our area, is it safe to eat produce that has been affected by wildfires?
A: View answer
What should I do about the wildfire ash covering my yard and garden?
Q: My shrubs are covered in ash. When this is over should I take a hose and spray them off?
A: View answer
What effect will the 2020 fires have on bees?
(Photo courtesy Nathan Howard)
Wildfires destroying hemp crops in California, Oregon
Oregon State University is “pulling together detailed information on the impacts of fire and smoke on hemp,” said Jeffrey Steiner, associate director of the school’s Global Hemp Innovation Center. Steiner said the information will be presented during an upcoming Hemp Virtual Field Day on Sept. 23.
Will wildfire smoke damage the 2020 Willamette Valley wine harvest?
Mitigating smoke taint (or smoke impact, as some industry experts call it) is a subject of ongoing research at Oregon State University's Oregon Wine Research Institute. With wildfires increasingly common in the West's wine-producing areas, it's an increasingly pertinent issue.
(Photo courtesy Nathan Howard)
Oregon wildfires prompt delay for hemp field day (Hemp Industry Daily)
Oregon State University has delayed its first Oregon Hemp Field Day by a week, from Sept. 16 to Sept. 23.
Wildfires, COVID-19 disrupt ag research
Oregon researchers have faced disruptions in 2020 but are making the best of circumstances. Researchers, Heidi Happonen said, are studying toxins and pollutants, smoke's impact on wine grapes, the effects of soot and ash on livestock and more.
Resources available for Oregon farmers hit by wildfires
Farmers and ranchers affected by catastrophic wildfires burning across Oregon have resources available to help them shoulder the pain of sudden and devastating losses.
Researchers to study impacts of wildfire smoke on hemp
Hemp researchers at Oregon State University are convening a new working group to study the effects of wildfire smoke on the crop following another brutal wildfire season across the West.
How Will The Westcoast Forest Fires Affect The 2020 Vintage
Ninety percent of the wine produced in the United States comes from the three Pacific Coast states of California, Oregon and Washington. The full impact of this smoke on the region’s multi-billion-dollar wine industry is not yet known.
Predicting the cancer-causing potential of chemicals released from wildfires, fossil fuel burning
OSU researchers, led by Susan Tilton, an associate professor in the Department of Environmental and Molecular Toxicology, have developed a method that could potentially predict the cancer-causing potential of chemicals released into the air during wildfires and fossil fuel combustion.
Leaf drop after ash blackout shouldn’t be of concern
The clouds of smoke and raining ash are over, but for some common evergreen plants the damage has been done. Don’t worry, it’s most likely temporary
Extension coordinates hay donations to relieve those affected by wildfires
In counties throughout the state, semi-trucks stacked with hay bales pull into Oregon State University Extension Service facilities.
OSU Extension Fire Program adds faculty, responds to 2020 wildfires
As fires burned around the state last month, Oregon State University’s new Forestry and Natural Resources Extension Fire Program pivoted from educating people about preventing fire to helping landowners recover from devastating loss.
Weather, fire impair pear harvest
Many growers wrapped up most of the harvest a little earlier than usual, in early September, but that was because the volume was lower than normal, said Rick Hilton, an entomologist with the Oregon State University Extension Service office near Jacksonville.
After the fires: Farm animals face long-term feed shortages
Oregon State University staff told the Capital Press it's too early to estimate the number of acres burned or animals displaced, but impacts are widespread.
Oregon State researchers mobilize to study impact of wildfire smoke on wine
Oregon State University scientists have analyzed almost 500 samples of wine and grapes from throughout Oregon to better understand the impact of smoke on wine. Grapes absorb smoke from the fires and at high enough levels that the smoke can negatively impact the flavor of the wine and lead to significant negative economic impacts for grape growers and winemakers.