The smoke has cleared but the crisis has not. The 2020 Oregon fires and the resulting smoke have no precedent in our modern history. We have no record of air so thick with soot that to even venture outside was hazardous for our health. But we knew that this day was coming. The climate crisis is here.
As the planet and Oregon have warmed we have seen our fire season grow longer. In the 1980s the fire season was two months long; today our average fire season is four months long. Our summers are getting hotter and drier. Our snowpack is shrinking, and this year most of the state was in drought even in the rainy season. These changes have an immediate effect on our health, sending loved ones to the emergency room for asthma attacks and preventing us from doing one of the things that makes life great in Oregon: spending time outdoors.
And we know exactly what is driving these changes: burning fossil fuels.
The wildfires and their lingering impact have also shown how the climate crisis affects all of us, but not all of us equally. People without a safe home would have had no relief from the acrid air if it weren’t for emergency shelters. People with limited incomes who live in older homes, apartments or manufactured homes with leaky windows and walls had no way to keep the smoke out. People with preexisting conditions like asthma and heart disease faced heightened health risks. And Black, Indigenous and other people of color whose communities are harmed by racist systems that result in disproportionate rates of chronic disease, poverty, and institutional barriers to quality housing and careers, have continued to endure compounding blows.
The stakes have never felt higher. The challenges have never seemed steeper. Hope, however, is not lost.
We still have time to transform our society and give up fossil fuels. Doing so will not be easy. The fossil fuel industry will fight against meaningful change every step of the way, despite the inarguable evidence of climate change that is reflected in data, but also in flames, floods and droughts. But we know what we have to do to avert more climate disasters: invest in transit, biking, and walking; make our buildings energy efficient and safe; run our economy on clean and abundant renewable energy; and hold fossil fuel companies accountable for the damage they have caused. Taken together, these changes won’t just pull us away from the edge of climate catastrophe — they will lift up those who have been left behind and benefit the community as a whole.
I know that we can meet the challenge ahead. It’s a matter of caring for our planet, it’s a matter of caring for each other, and it’s a matter of survival.
- John Wasiutynski, Office of Sustainability Director
Learn how Multnomah County's Office of Sustainability engages with the Oregon Public Utility Commission, the state agency that regulates utilities in Oregon, to advocate for a cleaner, more equitable energy system for residents. (Climate Action Plan, Action 3A)
Join the Multnomah County EcoChallenge team this October and take actions that speak to the things we love, what we want to change, and what we must protect. This year, EcoChallenge has expanded actions found in two new tracks: Justice for the Whole Community and Healing & Renewal, which are particularly relevant in 2020.
Multnomah County’s wintertime wood burning ordinance is in effect between October 1 - March 1. The ordinance aims to keep the air as clean as possible for residents by restricting non-essential wood burning fires when the air quality and weather conditions are forecasted to be poor.
This past summer, hazardous air caused a jump in emergency department visits in Multnomah County. Wildfire smoke and a lack of wind have caused the area’s most unhealthy air conditions on record.
Last summer, Oregon wildfires wiped several towns off the map, displaced thousands of people, and left thousands more inhaling hazardous smoky air -- all while firefighters worked round-the-clock to keep the flames from damaging more communities. Here's how you can help.
The extreme weather conditions that led into the Labor Day weekend wildfires were unlike anything Oregon’s seen before but could become more frequent.
Many don’t immediately think of Ruth Bader Ginsburg as an environmental activist or climate champion. However, her life and career offer plenty of inspiration for those who work on climate -- and for anyone concerned with preserving a livable planet.
Email your burning climate change-related questions to CAPPY, the Climate Action Plan mascot, at sustainability@multco.us, and it may appear in next quarter's Climate Leadership Now newsletter!
Q: Dear CAPPY, What is the connection between wildfires and climate change?
A: Climate change is making our summers hotter and drier, shrinking our snowpack and causing drought. This year, most of Oregon experienced drought -- even during the rainy season. These changes have resulted in a longer and more severe wildfire season in Oregon.
Forest practices are somewhat to blame, but cannot account for the types of fires we saw this year. For example, the devastating fire in Talent, Oregon, was in an urban/suburban setting and had nothing to do with forest management practices. While thinning forests and prescribed burns (controlled intentional wild-land fires) make sense on the east side of the Cascades, those practices are not helpful to the west of the Cascades where forest types are dense. In fact, areas logged on the west side are actually more susceptible to fire because they are replanted with only commercially valuable trees that do not emulate natural growth. Treating forests like ecosystems instead of farms would be a solution to help improve resiliency and maintain a diversity of tree species that would serve as a natural fire break.
Fires have always been a part of the ecosystem in the Northwest, but because of the climate crisis more areas are threatened by fire more often, and development in vulnerable areas means more buildings and people are in harm's way. What is the solution? We need to stop greenhouse gas emissions, stop building in really risky areas, improve forest practices to encourage diverse rich ecosystems, and find better ways to prepare.
Yours truly,
CAPPY
