OSU Extension presents SmokeReadyGorge air‑quality monitors to district
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Summary
An OSU Extension Service representative briefed the board on a SmokeReadyGorge project that placed indoor and outdoor air monitors at district sites; the data are publicly available at smokereadygorge.org and intended to guide activity decisions on smoky days.
A representative from Oregon State University Extension Service presented the SmokeReadyGorge project and the district’s new indoor and outdoor air-quality monitors at the board meeting.
Grace Lesson, identified as an OSU Extension Service educator for Hood River and Wasco counties, told the board that OSU received funding from the OSU SPIRE Center (NIH‑funded) to supply each North Wasco County School District site with indoor and outdoor monitors. “Smoke is an emerging and continuing public health hazard,” Lesson said, explaining that fine particulate matter from wildfire smoke can penetrate developing lungs and affect student health and learning.
Lesson demonstrated the public dashboard available at smokereadygorge.org and described two tabletop monitors intended for staff use in gyms and cafeterias. She said the Oregon Health Authority provides guidance for schools and childcare centers about outdoor activity limits tied to air quality index levels and that the monitors are meant to inform district decisions about outdoor activities during smoke events.
OSU Extension staff advised the board that smoke forecasting is an evolving area and that smoke can travel hundreds of miles, making preparation and year‑round monitoring necessary. Lesson encouraged districts to use the monitors as a tool for planning and to contact OSU Extension for materials and guidance; distribution and policy implementation remain under district jurisdiction.
The board asked about forecasting and distribution of materials; Lesson said OSU Extension will provide information and that the district retains authority over activity policies.
