PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Nearly half of Oregon counties are now in emergency drought status as the state adds a high-tech tool to its firefighting arsenal.

The Oregon Department of Forestry says the new multi-mission aircraft could help crews find fires before they grow out of control.

The aircraft is packed with artificial intelligence, thermal imaging and night vision, and uses advanced mapping software to detect heat and track new fire starts.

When lightning strikes in remote parts of Oregon, officials say the race to find a fire begins immediately. The plane then flies in behind the storm, scanning the landscape for hot spots and early signs of fire.

“It’s a new tool in the toolbox to help us identify, detect and get firefighters to new fire starts around the state as quickly as possible,” said Kyle Williams, ODF’s deputy director of fire operations.

Williams said the aircraft can pick up heat from new fires even before flames are visible.

“And minutes matter. Seconds matter,” Williams said. “This plane is cutting those minutes and seconds down significantly.”

That information goes straight to crews on the ground, helping them prioritize the most dangerous fires.

Officials say rapid response is key to keeping new fires from spreading before they get out of control.

The aircraft replaces a plane that has been in service for more than 40 years and is part of a $13.23 million investment funded through state bonds and contributions from forest landowners.

Officials say the project has been in the works since 2018.

Fire officials add dry conditions are already developing in parts of the state, raising concerns about a challenging summer fire season.

“The fire starts that do happen are going to require rapid response,” Williams said. “This is going to help us with aggressive initial attack.”

Officials say the goal is simple — find fires fast, keep them small and protect Oregon communities before the next big fire takes off.

The Oregon Health Authority published new, stricter guidelines this week for scheduling youth sports and other outdoor activities when air quality gets unhealthy.

The agency says the change reflects “increasing scientific evidence” that smoke can harm children’s health at levels lower than previously thought.

The guidance is supposed to help youth-serving organizations, such as schools and athletic leagues, make decisions about participation in outdoor activities amid wildfire smoke and other air pollution events.

The guide relies on the Air Quality Index, the system by which health authorities assign a color—green, yellow, red and so on—to reflect smoke and air pollution at a given place and time.

Now, when the AQI arrives in the yellow (moderate) range, the OHA encourages caution for youth with health conditions participating in short-to-medium-duration activities. This replaced the former guideline which stated: “It’s a good day to be active outside.”

The agency made similar modifications to its “Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups”—or orange—range. On orange days, the OHA now advises all youth to limit activity intensity and consider canceling or moving the event if the intensity cannot be limited. This is a change from the previous guideline, which on orange days focused on participants with health conditions.

Lastly, the “Unhealthy,” or red, classification has been raised to follow the same guidelines as the “Very Unhealthy” and “Hazardous” categories, which now all recommend that outdoor activities be canceled.

Though Portland historically sees few days of air quality in the orange Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups range or worse (only about 3.3 days per year on average), OHA’s tightened guidelines could affect outdoor activities for participants under 18, particularly in the summer months.

Aside from the categorical changes, OHA has widened the range of a “medium-length activity” to be one to four hours, rather than one to two. The agency also added language to its guidelines emphasizing less obvious points of exposure to be aware of, such as walking to school or riding on school buses with the windows down.

“We fully recognize the importance of outdoor time and exercise for the physical and mental health of children and youth,” said Gabriela Goldfarb of OHA’s Public Health Division in a written statement. “We offer this guide to support adults making decisions that balance those needs with the reality that children are more likely to be affected by health threats from smoke, because their airways are still developing and because they breathe more air per pound of body weight than adults.”

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