‘Unhealthy’ Air Quality in Portland Caused by an Industrial Fire, Experts Say
Air quality levels in Portland, Ore., reached “unhealthy” levels and were among the worst in the nation on Wednesday. Although wildfires in the region and beyond have been behind some of the recent spikes in air quality levels, this time the culprit was a factory fire an hour north of the city.
A paper mill, Nippon Dynawave Packaging in Longview, Wash., caught fire on Tuesday night and was still burning as of Wednesday afternoon, according to the Longview Fire Department.
“The plume of smoke from that has been pointed at the metro area since last evening,” said Paul C. Loikith, a meteorologist and associate professor in the geography department at Portland State University.
For a few hours during the middle of the day on Wednesday, the Air Quality Index in Portland passed 170, placing it within the “unhealthy” range. While wildfires have recently been the cause of air quality issues across the United States, experts said the fire at the paper mill was the reason the A.Q.I. spiked in the Portland area.
Source: The New York Times
