Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., went right into air quality
talks during his latest stop in Klamath Falls, saying
that current levels are “probably worse than Beijing.”
“You can’t even go outside,” said Walden, who had also
just come from a meeting with business leaders in
Medford.
Walden met with members of the Klamath County Chamber of
Commerce for a board meeting during the muggy, hazy
Thursday afternoon. Other points brought up by chamber
members included the continued opioid crisis, supporting
mental health programs and continued irrigation debates
in the Klamath Basin.
But talks of air quality and the potential adverse
health effects took the main stage, with Walden adding
that he wanted to conduct hearings to examine air
quality impacts of wildfire smoke. Walden also serves as
chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee.
Walden told chamber members Thursday that he would
continue working with his Democratic colleagues to
better manage wildfire-fighting techniques and to assure
that larger fires get put out quicker.
He
also said that state fire officials often seem to get
things under control faster than they do on a federal
level.
Walden’s office has also cited studies from the Nature
Conservancy, U.S. Forest Service and others that claim
active management of fire fuels could reduce the size
and intensity of wildfires by up to 70 percent. This
could also reduce carbon emissions from wildfires by up
to 85 percent.
“It always seems to be that the Oregon Department of
Forestry always gets it quicker and gets it out faster,”
Walden said.
Air quality in Klamath Falls continues to go back and
forth between “unhealthy” and “very unhealthy.” As of
press time, Klamath Falls had an air quality rating of
154, which is still considered “unhealthy.”
Many experts say that climate change is one large reason
for large wildfires being hard to isolate and contain.
For Walden, it also boils down to proper forest
management. Walden said that there had been more recent
tools for forest services to get in and participate in
more thinning projects.
As
for air quality, the Basin and Rogue Valley have
experienced similar impacts. Walden made mention of
Rogue Valley events having to cancel, which includes
several performances of the Shakespeare Festival in
Ashland and concerts at Britt Festival Pavilion, an
outdoor amphitheater in Jacksonville.
“And we’re just barely starting fire season,” Walden
said. “It’s not what people signed up for.”
Klamath County Commissioner Derrick DeGroot also
mentioned a similar outcome for the Gems baseball team,
which recently announced the cancellation of the rest of
its season.
“It’s just ridiculous,” DeGroot said.
