Heat Smoke Fire Annual Dispatch: Difference between revisions
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* People without access to air conditioning | * People without access to air conditioning | ||
* Pregnant people | * Pregnant people | ||
* People on certain medications | * People on [https://stvincents.org/about-us/news-press/news-detail?articleId=57301&publicid=745 certain medications] | ||
* People who work in hot indoor or outdoor environments | * People who work in hot indoor or outdoor environments | ||
* People who engage in strenuous or outdoor recreational activities (esp. children on turf fields) | * People who engage in strenuous or outdoor recreational activities (esp. children on turf fields) | ||
Latest revision as of 11:35, 12 June 2026
Climate change events are steadily taking the foreground as the most widespread life safety threat in the Portland Metro region. The purpose of this page is to help NET volunteers track information and resources year to year concerning extreme heat events. Extreme heat events cause heat-related illnesses and deaths, wildland-urban interface (WUI) fires, and wildfire smoke inundation. This page is also intended to clarify the role of NET volunteers in responding to extreme heat events.
This article is divided into two sections: perennial (or "evergreen") resources, and summer to summer breakdowns for situational awareness.
The Role of NET Volunteers in Extreme Heat Events
The first priority for NET volunteers is to keep themselves and their families safe during extreme heat events.
NET Deployments in Hot Weather
- See also: Severe Weather Operations: Heat
NETs keeping themselves safe is particularly true for any deployment during the summer (whether the deployment itself is heat related or not). Volunteers accepting an assignment during hot weather should review the Wiki article linked above, and must complete the annual Heat Illness Prevention Training in MIP under Opportunities > Basic NET Training. (NETs who are City of Portland employees must complete the training in City Learner instead, and then email their proof of completion.)
Promoting Hot Weather Safety Awareness in Communities
NETs act as PBEM's community ambassadors. We encourage NETs who are also leaders in their community to promote heat/fire/smoke safety in their communities through social media and community meetings. The most appropriate public-facing information to promote in communities is found on PublicAlerts.org, where there are individual pages for wildfires, wildfire smoke, and extreme heat.
We encourage NETs to promote PublicAlerts.org pages at the start of each summer, and at any time we anticipate a heat, fire, or smoke event.
Burn Bans and Red Flag Warnings
NETs are encouraged to be aware of active burn bans and red flag warnings, and to inform their communities about these conditions as well:
- Multnomah County has a perennial page for wood burning restrictions. Wood burning is restricted to mitigate poor air quality.
- The City of Portland has a page for burn ban status. This is not the same as a wood burning restriction; burn bans are placed in effect during hot and dry weather conditions to reduce fire risk.
- Wikipedia has an article on Red Flag Warnings, and you can monitor whether one is in effect for Portland through the NWS page for Portland.
Public Safety Power Shutoffs
When temperatures are high and winds are high, utility companies may implement a public safety power shutoff (PSPS) to proactively de-energize the grid to help prevent wildland fires. Advance notice to affected customers is provided, if possible. If NETs receive questions about PSPSs, we encourage volunteers to direct folks to Portland General Electric's official PSPS page.
Firework Safety
Fireworks are responsible for many fires, and their use is banned in the City of Portland by ordinance, effective March of 2022. There is a lot of information and data on PF&R's Fireworks page. Communities concerned about firework use in their neighborhoods should not call 911; instead, they should send a report through this form.
Participate in Fire Fuel Mitigation
PBEM encourages NET volunteers to get involved in or start a neighborhood Firewise program if they live in an area with significant fire risk (you can check your WUI fire risk at THIS LINK).
Volunteer at Cooling Spaces and Cooling Shelters
TBA
Help Set Up Air Conditioning Units
This is a developing program; no information at this time.
Heat Fire Smoke "Evergreen" Resources
This is a catalog of online resources that NET volunteers can use to keep up situational awareness around extreme heat and provide to their neighbors. PBEM staff expect that these resources will always be relevant, year to year.
Extreme Heat
According to Multnomah County, those facing the highest risk of heat-related illness include:
|
| Resource | Notes | Curator |
|---|---|---|
| Help for When It's Hot | Locations of cooling spaces when cooling spaces open; also, you can use this MAP | Multnomah County |
| Keep Pets Cool in Hot Weather | Pet care in heatwaves | Multnomah County |
| Understanding Heat Risk | Information on heat risk and how to prevent heat illness | PublicAlerts.org |
| Heat Risk Videos | Short videos optimized for phone viewing on heat risks are available in multiple languages:
ASL | English | Spanish | Mandarin | Nepali | Russian | Somali | Ukrainian | Vietnamese |
PBEM/RDPO |
Heat Smoke Fire 2026
2026 Informational Materials
| Release Date | Title | Authoring Agency |
|---|---|---|
| 2026.06.02 | Message to City Employees re Heat Prep | PBEM |
| 2026.05.28 | PBEM Small Business Bulletin "Heat Preparedness" article | PBEM |
| 2026.05.26 | Regional Joint Information System meeting materials re: Heat Fire Smoke public messaging | R-JIS |
| 2026.04.__ | Oregon Air Quality Activity Guide for Children and Youth | Oregon Health Authority |
| 2025.12.19 | Heat Adaptation and Management Report | Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability |
| 2023.04.__ | Home Forward Indoor Temperature Assessment (press article here) | PBEM/Home Forward |
2026 Relevant Heat Fire Smoke Events
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 2026.06.15 | Start of Multnomah County burn ban |
| 2026.06.14 | Start of two day heatwave |
| 2026.05.27 | COAD Heat Tabletop Exercise |
| 2026.05.27 | McCullough Research Wildfire Presentation |
2026 Heat Fire Smoke Media
| Date | Articles |
|---|---|
| 2026.05.20 | AccuWeather predicts ‘persistent wildfire risk’ in the Northwest in 2026 |
| 2026.05.20 | Wildfires in western U.S. likely to be bigger, more powerful in 2026, report finds |