The communities of Oakridge and Westfir are consistently among the worst 20 communities in the United States for air quality. Our communities sit at the bottom of a bowl of hills, where bad air doesn’t move out. This makes our area especially vulnerable to pollution from old woodstoves and burning green, unseasoned wood, and wildfire smoke. Wood smoke contains tiny soot particles and is the primary source of our bad air quality days.

  

The efforts in Oakridge to improve air quality have been active for about three decades. Over the years, the health of Oakridge residents has been affected by poor air quality. The City of Oakridge is moving towards the standard and has made considerable progress since 2007. This is a result of community stakeholders working together to develop creative solutions.

  

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