News Release from Lane Co. Government
Posted on FlashAlert: August 16th, 2023 10:51 AM
The Lane County Heat and Smoke Respite Center, located at Lane Events Center at 796 W. 13th Ave in Meeting Room 1, will remain open today from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. Additionally, thanks to the Lane County partners at St. Vincent DePaul, Trinity Methodist Church, located at 440 Maxwell Rd, will be open again as an overnight smoke respite shelter. The shelter will be available from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m.
Egan staff will be providing van shuttle service to the Trinity site from First Christian Church (1166 Oak Street) between 6:30 pm and 10:30 pm this evening and will also drive people back to downtown Eugene from the shelter site each morning.
Lane Transit District (LTD) has agreed to provide free rides during operating hours to anyone going to either First Christian for the shuttle or directly to Trinity. Riders simply need to state one of those places as their final destination and that they are traveling to stay at the Smoke Respite Shelter.
AIR QUALITY SAFETY
Current air quality in much of Lane County is unhealthy for all persons. To minimize exposure to unhealthy air, it is important to consider both indoor and outdoor exposures.
To reduce indoor smoke exposure:
- Stay inside with windows and doors closed
- Use high efficiency filters on your air conditioning system, whether a room unit or central air
- Do not add to indoor air pollution (e.g., do not smoke, light candles, burn propane or wood stoves)
- Use a portable air cleaner designed for the size room you are occupying
- Use smoke grade air filters rated 13 MERV or HEPA
- Set AC mode to recirculate (turn off outdoor intake)
To reduce outdoor smoke exposure:
- Avoid outdoor exercise and non-essential activities
- Reduce smoke in your vehicle by closing windows and vents and using recirculated air
- If you must be outside, use a high quality mask such as an N95 mask
- Monitor air quality and wildfire risks
- Have a plan to move to a safer environment should the need arise
Children, people with heart and lung conditions, elders, and others in sensitive groups should take extra precautions to minimize their smoke exposure. Everyone is encouraged to seek cleaner air at any publicly available sites (and maybe copy in the cooling center list and/or add the link to the doc?)
Precautions are also recommended for the continued high temperatures happening today. See LaneCountyOR.Gov/cooling more information
George Custer lives in Oakridge with his wife Sayre. George is a former smokejumper from his hometown of Cave Junction, a former captain in the U.S. Marine Corps. and ran a construction company in Southern California. George assumed the volunteer duties as the Editor of the Highway 58 Herald in 2022. He loves riding his Harley-Davidson motorcycle, building all things wood, and playing drums on the weekends in his office.
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