Fire
High pressure builds off the coast today and brings a dramatic
warmup with temperatures 10-12 degrees warmer than
Monday. Hot and dry weather will continue through the week
as the upper ridge moves inland and parks over the region.
Winds light and variable today becoming breezy on
Wednesday. Today, fire behavior intensifies with higher
temperatures and low humidity. Greater fuel consumption
leads to increased smoke production. Rapid fire spread can be
expected where diurnal winds align with slope. Perimeter
growth can be anticipated at uncontained wildfires.
Smoke
Yesterday, the White River fire burning on the Mount Hood NF
grew over 1000 acres. This fire growth aligned well with north
winds and dispersed smoke south into Sisters and La Pine
during the overnight hours. The Sisters Monitor recorded
“unhealthy” air quality conditions this morning. Otherwise,
good air quality this morning. Today, light and variable winds
should result in mostly good air quality with periods of light
smoke for Sisters and La Pine this afternoon. On Wednesday,
North to Northwest winds will result in moderate levels of
smoke moving into communities in the western portion of the forecast area.
