Portland records worst air quality Wednesday

Portland’s air quality ranked worst in the world among the roughly 120 major cities tracked by IQAir at one point on Wednesday morning, as wildfire smoke from across Oregon settled over the city. Oregon Public Broadcasting reported Portland’s average air quality index was 160 at 7 a.m., a level classified as “unhealthy,” before the city later fell to fifth place only because conditions worsened elsewhere. (opb.org) More than 2 million acres have burned across Oregon this season, according to regional fire data cited by local reports, and smoke from those fires was expected to blanket much of the state through at least Wednesday night. The National Weather Service warned that many areas would remain at unhealthy levels for the next couple of days. (cbc.ca) The smoke problem extended beyond Oregon. Metro Vancouver upgraded an air-quality warning for the eastern Fraser Valley on Aug. 4 and told residents there to avoid outdoor activities as wildfire smoke spread into British Columbia’s Lower Mainland. (opb.org) ### How bad did Portland’s air get on Wednesday? IQAir’s Wednesday rankings put Portland briefly at the top of its global list for major cities, according to OPB. By 10 a.m., Portland had dropped to fifth, but OPB said that reflected deteriorating air in four other cities rather than a meaningful local improvement. (opb.org) A monitoring station in Post, Oregon, about 20 miles southeast of Prineville, registered a hazardous AQI of 460 on Wednesday morning, OPB reported. In areas near the Rowe Creek Fire Complex in Central Oregon, readings reached the “very unhealthy” category around 200. (cbc.ca) ### Where was the smoke coming from? Oregon’s 2026 wildfire season had already broken the state record for acreage burned by Aug. 3, KOIN reported, surpassing the previous 2024 mark. KOIN cited Northwest Coordination Center data showing nearly 2 million acres burned and said dozens of large fires were still active with roughly two months left in the season. (opb.org) The Rowe Creek Complex Fire in central Oregon was the state’s largest active blaze at 320,834 acres and 53% containment as of Aug. 3, according to KOIN. OPB said smoke from fires burning more than 2 million acres statewide was driving the haze over Portland and much of Oregon. (opb.org) ### What were officials telling people to do? The National Weather Service said smoke pollutants can cause burning eyes, runny noses, and aggravate heart and lung disease, according to the alert quoted by OPB. The agency told residents to limit outdoor activities, keep children indoors if it was smoky, and follow medical advice if they had heart or lung conditions. (koin.com) Metro Vancouver uses yellow warnings for high health risk and orange warnings for very high health risk, according to its air-quality advisory page. The regional district said warnings are issued when pollution levels are unhealthy or expected to become unhealthy across the Lower Fraser Valley airshed. (koin.com) ### Why was the Fraser Valley warning upgraded? The Metro Vancouver Regional District upgraded the eastern Fraser Valley to an orange alert on Aug. 4, CBC reported, covering Chilliwack, Agassiz and Hope. CBC said the area had previously been under a yellow warning before smoke conditions worsened. (opb.org) Christopher Lam, president of the B.C. Lung Foundation, told CBC residents should take a break from outdoor workouts during the smoke event. Metro Vancouver said wildfire complexes near Clinton and Boston Bar were contributing to smoky skies in the Lower Mainland. (metrovancouver.org) ### Where can people check what happens next? Metro Vancouver said its AirMap provides real-time air-quality data, the Air Quality Health Index and a two-day forecast for monitoring stations from Horseshoe Bay to Hope. The regional district said it posts updates when conditions are expected to worsen and when warnings are in effect, typically between June and September. (cbc.ca) OPB reported that smoky conditions were expected to persist through at least Wednesday night in much of Oregon, while Metro Vancouver said residents in the Lower Fraser Valley should continue following updates as conditions change. (opb.org) (metrovancouver.org) (cbc.ca)