Institute for Resilient Organizations, Communities, and Environments (IROCE)

Permanent URI for this community

https://hdl.handle.net/1794/13125

The Institute for Resilient Organizations, Communities, and Environments (IROCE) at the University of Oregon links, leverages, and aligns applied social science research and resources to help organizations and communities adapt and thrive in the face of adversity.

Note: The organization was formerly known as The Institute for a Sustainable Environment

For more information, visit the web site at: https://resilient.uoregon.edu

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Browsing Institute for Resilient Organizations, Communities, and Environments (IROCE) by Subject "Air quality"

Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
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    OAKRIDGE AIR COMMUNITY INTERVIEWS ON AIR QUALITY AND SMOKE
    (Ecosystem Workforce Program, Institute for a Sustainable Environment, University of Oregon, 2022)
    The Oregon communities of Oakridge and Westfir have historically been ranked amongst the top 20 communities in the United States with the worst air quality due to high concentrations of particulate matter (PM2.5) from home wood heating (wood stove) and wildfire smoke. We partnered with Oakridge Air, a community-level program funded by the US Environmental Protection Agency and Lane Regional Air Protection Agency, that seeks to mitigate health threats from smoke-related poor air quality in Oakridge, to conduct a pilot study. Approach: We conducted interviews with 22 key informants and community leaders from the Oakridge-Westfir community between April and June of 2022. The key informants were purposively chosen for this pilot study because they provided a connection to multiple parts of the Oakridge-Westfir community. We asked respondents questions related to community understanding of air quality information, effective communication sources, community preparedness for smoke events, and smoke-related air quality concerns and behaviors. These pilot data will be used to inform future research about air quality in the community.
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    OAKRIDGE CEDAR CREEK FIRE 2022 INTERNAL AFTER ACTION REPORT
    (Ecosystem Workforce Program, Institute for a Sustainable Environment, University of Oregon, 2023-01) Smith, Hollie; Huber-Stearns, Heidi; Serio, Naomi
    An After Action Review workshop was facilitated on Monday, December 5, 2022 for City of Oakridge, Lane County staff, and Oakridge community members who participated in the emergency responses in Oakridge for wildfire evacuation and hazardous air quality related to the Cedar Creek Fire (see timeline for details). Oakridge had 37 days from August-October 2022 when air quality was unhealthy for sensitive groups (AQI of 101-150). In an effort to learn from this unprecedented and extended event, Southern Willamette Forest Collaboratives partnered with researchers at the University of Oregon to conduct this internal After Action Review. The review consisted of one workshop that lasted 2 hours and was broken up into two sessions: 1) evacuation and 2) smoke and air quality. For evacuation, participants noted that several components of the evacuation went well, primarily related to communication timing and modes, early planning, and the use of public resources (e.g., buses). Key areas for evacuation improvement include staffing capacity, establishing an Emergency Operation Center (EOC), and improving communication and emergency planning for multiple scenarios (with and without electricity or external funding and support). For smoke and air quality, participants noted the success of the air purifier distribution program, the installation of Purple Air sensors, a field trip for school children, and strong communication about cleaner air spaces. The key areas for improvement include communication and emergency planning for multiple scenarios, streamlining (and improving the accessibility of) the purifier screening criteria and resource availability, and providing additional support for schools. The remainder of this report is divided into: 1) summarized/overall recommendations from both events; 2) Evacuation Timeline; 3) Smoke Response Timeline; and 4) more information from the discussions from each session and the resulting recommendations.
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    Oakridge-Westfir Smoke and Air Quality: Community Survey
    (Ecosystem Workforce Program, University of Oregon, 2024) Coughlan, Michael R.; Downey, Jess; Huber-Stearns, Heidi; Serio, Naomi; Smith, Hollie
    This report summarizes the results of a 2024 Oakridge Air community survey on air quality and smoke from wildfire and woodstoves. This community survey was informed by interviews conducted with community leaders to identify key information needs and actions related to air quality and smoke locally. Oakridge, in Lane County, Oregon, has historically been ranked among the top 20 communities in the United States with the worst air quality due to high concentrations of particulate matter (PM2.5) from home wood heating (woodstove) and wildfire smoke. Supplemental materials that accompany this report include two appendices: Appendix I: Oakridge Smoke & Air Quality Survey is the survey instrument, Consent Form, Gift Card form, and Oakridge Air Survey Hand-Out. Appendix II: Detailed Survey Methods and Results reports all response categories for all survey questions, in the order the survey was designed. The full de-identified survey results are also included.
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    Perceptions of Air Quality and Smoke in Oakridge, Oregon Perceptions Oregon: Results from pilot interviews with key informants
    (Ecosystem Workforce Program, Institute for a Sustainable Environment, University of Oregon, 2022) University of Oregon. Ecosystem Workforce Program; Kaplowitz, Grace; Deak, Alison; Coughlan, Michael; Huber-Stearns, Heidi; Smith, Hollie; Shafer, Autumn
    This report summarizes the results of the Oakridge Air community key informant (or community leader) interviews on air quality and smoke. This research was conducted as a pilot project to discern community understanding, perceptions, and awareness of air quality and smoke issues in the Oregon communities of Oakridge and Westfir, and to inform a survey to be distributed to households in Oakridge-Westfir for further study. Oakridge has historically been ranked among the top 20 communities in the United States with the worst air quality due to high concentrations of particulate matter (PM2.5) from home wood heating (wood stove) and wildfire smoke. Due to the steep topography of the area and Oakridge’s location in a basin-shaped valley bottom, the community is prone to atmospheric inversions that trap seasonal wildfire smoke and wintertime home heating woodsmoke in the community.
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    Wildfire smoke and athletic events : understanding public concerns, experiences, and preparedness
    (Ecosystem Workforce Program, University of Oregon, 2023) Coughlan, Michael R.; Serio, Naomi; Huber-Stearns, Heidi; Clark, Benjamin Y., 1977-; Smith, Hollie M., 1986-
    The increasingly longer and more severe wildfire smoke events in the Pacific Northwest are likely to occur during outdoor athletic events. We investigated wildfire smoke concerns, air quality communication preferences, and protective action behaviors among sporting event attendees through a survey created by our interdisciplinary research team from the UO. This report presents survey results and implications for improving communication and protocol for air quality and smoke during future outdoor athletic events.