A wildfire as seen from near Stevenson Wash., across the Columbia River, burning in the Columbia River Gorge above the Bonneville Dam: KATU-TV

By Jimmy Lanier –
Special to the New American Journal –

PORTLAND, Ore. — The air surrounding Portland is thick with smoke, hanging like a blanket of yellow tinted fog from the Riverside Fire about 20 miles east of the city.

The limited visibility created by the smoke requires headlights on to drive in the middle of the day and in some neighborhoods it is hard to see stop signs through the smoke from one street corner to the next. And there is the persistent campfire smell permeating through all the other smells of a city.

It is no wonder Portland registered the worst air quality in the world early last week. And as of Sunday, September 13, the conditions have not improved. The dense smoke from the fires has been reported in Seattle and all the way to Vancouver B.C.

As bad as the health hazards are in Portland from breathing smoke-filled air, the actual fires east and south of Portland are a present danger. Numerous small communities have either been overcome by the fires or are on the edge of being evacuated. For those communities in the path of the fire the alert levels change daily back and forth from Level II and Level 1.

Level II is be prepared to leave immediately. Level I is get ready to leave. Level III is get out now.

For 40,000 Oregonians Level III evacuations have already occurred and another 500,000 people are on alert. As a result up and down the I-5 corridor county fairgrounds are filling up with farm animals who were fortunate enough to be evacuated. And today the first county fairgrounds in the Portland area opened up to be able to shelter horses and livestock displaced by the fires from other areas. Individuals have stepped up and are providing feed and supplies to those in need.

One of the more striking aspects of the fires which have now burned over 1 million acres in Oregon alone, is how quickly the fires spread and to how large an area. It is being reported that 24 people have now died in the wildfires scorching the West Coast.

Last Tuesday, 275 miles to the south in the Rogue Valley about 25 miles from the California border, fires temporarily closed Interstate I-5. An Air tanker plane was used to disperse fire retardant and the interstate reopened.

By Thursday, all up and down the I-5 corridor the same story repeated of fire after fire; Eugene/Springfield, Salem/Silverton, Canby, Estacada/Oregon City, Sandy.

Prior to last week the main concern had been how to adjust to the new reality of Covid-19: social distancing, return to school while staying at home, supporting local businesses. Not anymore.

In Portland people continue to go about their daily lives that, at least for the next week, will be spent increasingly indoors. Restaurants with only sidewalk and outdoor seating available will take another economic hit as will the farmer’s markets, outdoor plant stores and basically any operation that conducts business outdoors.

However, for the communities 20 miles to the east of Portland a wary eye will stay focused on the 130,000 acre Riverside fire’s perimeter as it tries to push toward the cities of Sandy, Estacada and Oregon City.

And to the south the Beachie Creek Fire, at over 186,000 acres and growing, is moving north as the Riverside Fire moves south and west. Currently they are a mile apart. If they merge, the fear is the down drafts and smoke plumes from each fire would join together and create their own weather in the form of fire tornados.

Today, at least for the time being, the small cities in the path of the fires have moved from Level II alerts back down to Level 1.

Yellow smoke from Riverside Fire blankets Portland, Oregon like a fog: Jimmy Lanier