Summers have been changing in our part of Oregon. Wildfires are on the increase. Since 2020, our region has experienced four wildfires near or exceeding 100,000 acres, including the Archie Creek (125,000 acres), Slater (157,000 acres), Jack and Devil’s Knob (100,000 acres), and the Smith River North Complex (95,107 acres) conflagrations.
We often think that once flames are out, the danger from these fires is over. But this is not the case. Smoke and residue from these fires, which can last long after fire fighters stop the spread of flames, have components that themselves are dangerous to human health. Fires that simply burn forests still create smoke filled with materials such as formaldehyde. If buildings, cars, and other man-made objects burn, smoke and ash can fill with asbestos, heavy metals and other noxious substances.
Moreover, particles found in smoke, regardless of their nature, worsen health. These particles affect the body’s ability to remove viruses and bacteria from the lungs, leaving us more vulnerable to numerous diseases and infections. Short-term exposure (i.e., days to weeks) to particles from smoke worsen existing respiratory and cardiovascular diseases and even causes people to die prematurely.
For those of us with A/C units or room air purifiers, much of the ash and residue suspended in smoke can be captured in filters. But folks lacking A/C or air purifiers are left with little choice but to breathe in soot and smoke that fill their home. On days when outdoor air quality indices hit levels at which we are warned to stay indoors, these individuals cannot escape the damage done to their health by smoke. Distressed health in turn deepens poverty, and is one of the more common reasons people become poor.
UCAN has launched a Healthy Homes program to help low-income residents avoid the exposure to indoor smoke and ash and the associated health impacts. UCAN is leveraging our expertise in home weatherization to do so. Those eligible to have their homes weatherized will now also be eligible to receive an air purifier along with high quality air filters. The air filters can reduce indoor air particles by over 90%.
The Oregon Health Authority is providing grant funds for three years to operate our Healthy Homes program. We hope that at the end of this period, we will again be able to obtain funding to enhance this service. Long-time Douglas County resident Heather King, UCAN’s Supportive Services Director, proclaims, “Nobody should have to sit in a smoke-filled home, inhaling toxins and struggling to breathe.”
