By DOUG BATES/Editor/The Herald — The drought-stricken Upper Willamette region received some rain early Friday, Sept. 10, although not enough to snuff out the wildfires that continue to burn north of Oakridge and Westfir.
The short-term good news was that the moisture helped knock down the wildfire smoke that has reduced the community’s air quality to “very unhealthy” levels for several weeks. OakridgeAir.org reported an air quality index of just 15 Friday morning — a level rated “good” for everyone.
According to the National Weather Service, its Fields station east of Oakridge received 0.39 inches of rain between 3 a.m. and 5 a.m. Friday. It was the area’s first precipitation in more than two months. Although there’s a chance of light additional rain Friday, no significant additional precipitation is forecast until late September.
A high temperature of 68 degrees is forecast for Friday. The marine push that brought in clouds, light precipitation and cooler temperatures overnight is expected to remain through the weekend.
A marine west/northwest wind is expected to give some continued relief from the smoke today. The much-improved air quality is expected for most of the day, moving into “moderate” in the afternoon.
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