City is looking for volunteers to staff shelter
By Erick Bengel, Rogue Valley Times
Wildfire smoke prompted the city of Ashland to open a clean-air shelter at Calvin Hall at First Presbyterian Church of Ashland, 1615 Clark Ave., Friday afternoon, which is scheduled to also be open from noon to 8 p.m. Saturday, according to the city’s website.
The city is looking for volunteers to staff the shelter, as well as donations of masks, snacks and nonalcoholic beverages with electrolytes, Dorinda Cottle, Ashland’s communications officer, said in a text.
For information on volunteering and how to donate, call Kelly Burns, Ashland emergency management coordinator, at 541-880-3564. Items cannot be dropped off at the church.
Kari May, library director at the Jackson County Library District, said that although branches won’t be changing their hours of operation, “We definitely welcome people who need to come in out of the heat or the smoke or any other bad weather here in Southern Oregon.” The Ashland Public Library is open noon to 5 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Fridays.
Jackson County Health & Human Services encourages people looking for respite from the smoke to call 211.
The Ashland Police Department is handing out N95 masks at its headquarters at 1155 E. Main St.
Rogue Retreat, which operates a network of shelters for homeless individuals, will not be opening a smoke center but will give guests of Rogue Retreat Crossings the option to be transported to clean air, Sam Engel, the organization’s executive director, said in a text.
ACCESS, the county’s community action agency, only opens shelters when the city of Medford declares a severe weather emergency; the city does not plan to do so.
As of Friday afternoon, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival planned to put on the evening’s performance of “Twelfth Night” at the outdoor theater, Tyler Hokama, the festival’s interim executive director, said in a statement.
“Conditions will continue to be monitored for the health and safety of our audience members and performers alike,” he wrote.
The festival shares updates on its website, via email and text alerts, he wrote.
A Thursday night showing of “The Three Musketeers” was canceled due to smoke.
Meanwhile, the Britt Music & Arts Festival had no plans to cancel upcoming shows, either, Fran Jamison, director of marketing and communications there, said in an email.
She said the Britt is closely monitoring the air quality index on the meter at the Jacksonville venue, as well as the region’s smoke forecast from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
“We work in conjunction with the artists performing to decide whether an event needs to get cancelled, so it’s not entirely our call,” she wrote, “but we’re anticipating both concerts this weekend will go ahead.
“If anything does change, we will be alerting ticket buyers immediately via email and updating our website and social media pages.”
Neither the Ashland nor Medford chambers of commerce had heard of any prominent business closures or event cancellations.
Mike Petrucelli, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Medford, said the air quality in Southern Oregon will somewhat improve late Friday afternoon and early evening, but that the smoke will likely return Saturday morning.
AllCare CCO members — especially those who have high chronic needs such as asthma and lung ailments — have access to air filtration systems through their provider’s office. AllCare and Medicaid members can call the coordinated care organization directly to get in touch with a coordinator and work through the process of getting a system if it meets the requirements, Josh Balloch, AllCare’s vice president of government relations and health policy, said.
Reach reporter Erick Bengel at ebengel@rv-times.com or 458-488-2031. This story first appeared in the Rogue Valley Times.
