California wildfires bring smoke, health impacts to Rogue Valley | FireWatch [Video]

JACKSON COUNTY, Ore. — Even though Jackson County is not even a month into fire season, wildfire smoke is already making its way into the Rogue Valley. Smoke from the Sites Fire in the Sacramento Valley area is moving north into Southern Oregon.

“That’s the tricky part,” said Tanya Phillips, health promotion and preparedness manager with Jackson County Public Health. “We don’t have to have wildfires in Jackson County for it to impact our air quality here locally. They can be Eastern Oregon, Northern California, Northern Oregon, we’ve had some in Idaho. So, really it’s all around us.”

Haze was visible early Wednesday morning and more smoke is expected on Thursday. The Sites Fire has burned more than 15,600 acres and is 5% contained, according to CalFire. 

Even though the air quality in Jackson County hasn’t been impacted yet, the smoke serves as a reminder of potential health impacts.

“You …