MEDFORD & EUGENE, Ore. -- Jackson County is getting help from the University of Oregon with seasonal wildfire smoke.
The University of Oregon (UO) says two of its graduate students are working with the County to create a smoke management community response plan.
UO says Anna Murphy and Stuart Warren spent the summer remotely gathering background information in Jackson County, where they conducted a community survey and talked with stakeholders.
Their work with Jackson County officials will form a smoke management community response plan with steps to communicate with vulnerable populations and the broader community about sheltering from smoke. The students said they hope to complete a first draft by the end of the year.
UO notes, "Western wildfires have been increasing over the last decade and are expected to become more frequent, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. As a result, Oregon communities are seeing more unhealthy air days. In Medford, seat of Jackson County, there were 18 unhealthy days from wildfire smoke between 1985 and 2014. From 2015 to 2021, the city experienced 64 unhealthy days."
It says with more smoky days has communities across Oregon planning for effects from unhealthy air from fires to help protect health and welfare of vulnerable populations.
UO says Jackson County and the city of Medford have a history of working with the University to develop natural hazard mitigation plans. It made sense to reach out for help with the new smoke management plan, said Medford emergency manager Aaron Ott. He said Murphy and Warren "have been invaluable in gathering data, anticipating challenges, and helping formulate solutions." He says the completed the plan will address smoke impact in the region and help protect the health of citizens while building wildfire resilience through prescribed burning.
The work by Murphy and Warren is funded in part by the Department of Environmental Quality, which awarded grants to 20 local and tribal governments to develop smoke management plans.
Murphy and Warren are second-year students at UO working toward masters' degrees in community and regional planning and are part of the Institute for Policy Research and Engagement (IPRE).
Murphy said they reviewed plans created by Wallowa County and by the cities of Bend, Ashland and Oakridge, "They’re very much building upon each other."
Warren says the goal of the plans is to protect the health of community members, particularly vulnerable populations including the unhoused, children, adults older than 65, pregnant women, and people with respiratory conditions.
Jackson County's plan will include locations designated as cleaner air shelters, such as public libraries, churches and other civic spaces where people can shelter from smoky air.
Smoke management community response plans are part of IPRE support for local communities with planning efforts. It also works with city and county governments on natural hazard mitigation plans as well as wildfire mitigation plans.
UO is establishing a new Center for Wildfire Smoke Research and Practice, "which will conduct research driven by community need and help communities get actionable information. The work will be conducted in a collaborative fashion that builds on work being done by local communities, the Oregon Health Authority, Oregon State University and others."
UO says The Institute for Policy Research and Engagement is an applied research organization that has been linking the skills, expertise and innovation of higher education with the economic development and environmental needs of local communities to improve the quality of life for Oregon residents for more than 40 years.
