New report raises alarm over air pollution in Lane County

KLCC’s Oregon on the Record aired a July 14 segment on Eugene and Springfield’s air quality, with Hannarose McGuinness of The Register-Guard discussing how wildfire smoke is hitting local lungs.

The timing was sharp. The American Lung Association’s 2026 State of the Air report ranked the Eugene-Springfield area among the nation’s most polluted places for particle pollution, keeping Lane County near the top of a list no community wants to see.

The rankings have been bad for more than one year. The Register-Guard reported on July 6 that Lane County was No. 2 for poor air quality. Earlier coverage said Eugene-Springfield ranked No. 4 for both high-pollution days and year-round particle pollution, and KLCC said in April 2024 that Eugene-Springfield had taken fourth place nationally for air pollution.

For people in Lane County, the problem is not abstract. Wildfire smoke is the main driver of the worst outdoor air, and that smoke can arrive from fires in California, Washington, Idaho and beyond. The Lane Regional Air Protection Agency says hot, dry summers, intensified by climate change, have increased wildfire risk and danger in the county.

LRAPA was created in 1968 to achieve and maintain clean air in Lane County, and it now operates eight regulatory-grade air monitoring stations and more than 90 commercial-grade particulate monitors. That monitoring network is meant to track the fine particles that make smoke so damaging to asthma, heart health and lung health, especially when smoke settles over Eugene, Springfield and the rest of the Willamette Valley.

State air-quality trends show the problem has worsened over time. Oregon Department of Environmental Quality wildfire-smoke data found that days with unhealthy or worse air from wildfire smoke have increased starting around 2012. That lines up with the summer pattern many Lane County residents already know: smoke season can change plans for outdoor work, school sports and evening time outside within hours.

The July 14 KLCC segment turned a regional ranking into a local warning. In Lane County, the issue is not just how bad the air looks on a chart, but how often residents have to check the forecast, shut windows, and decide whether to stay inside when smoke hangs over Eugene and Springfield.