How much rain in Roseburg?

[Larry Caldwell]

It's smoke. The boilers at the Swanson stud mill on the south end of Roseburg have no stack scrubbers at all. If they have dry wood, it burns pretty clean, but it depends on the wind to keep the air breathable. 2 or 3 days of stagnant air and there isn't much left that's breathable in Roseburg.

[Fiddlehead]

Originally Posted by 1auntie

Hi there, So I assume Grants Pass has considerably less rain in winter than Roseburg? Since it is only 30 min. from Medford and Medford has almost half as much winter rain? My family will be moving that direction next year. Concerning forest fires is Roseburg or Grants Pass safer for residents? And being that they are both in valleys, which is most affected by residual smoke and inverted air? I'm kind of in a dilemma here- I have to leave the California Valley because of asthma, but I'm sensitive to mold so I can't go too far up into the state. I have to move to Oregon because of family. Any info. would be great thanks.

Given your description, you might like Bend or Medford/Ashland. Both areas will be drier than Roseburg or anywhere in the Willamette Valley. Grants Pass will be intermediate in all respects. Inversions can strike in any of the valleys, but Roseburg is probably the worst. My impression from studying the climate is that the Rogue-Umpqua Divide is pretty important climatically. Roseburg gets about 129 days of over 0.1" each year vs. 111 for Grant Pass and 101 for Medford and Ashland. Ashland is above the inversion about 2/3 of the days in winter, but we still get it some times. Bend will be considerably drier and colder, though still cloudier than most places in California in winter. Roseburg is by far the most affordable town though, I think, and it has the mildest summers (5-10 degrees cooler than, say, Medford) due to the stronger marine air penetration into the Umqua Basin. This could also mean that in terms of mold,etc., it is more like NW Oregon. I not a substantial improvement in the "mildew factor" between Ashland and when I lived in Corvallis. We still get a bit in the bathroom by spring, but it literally climbed the walls up there.

[5thgenSF]

Originally Posted by Larry Caldwell

It's smoke. The boilers at the Swanson stud mill on the south end of Roseburg have no stack scrubbers at all. If they have dry wood, it burns pretty clean, but it depends on the wind to keep the air breathable. 2 or 3 days of stagnant air and there isn't much left that's breathable in Roseburg.

so that would be clear over at the mountain range in the west?

[Larry Caldwell]

Originally Posted by 5thgenSF

so that would be clear over at the mountain range in the west?

Slash burning?

[5thgenSF]

Originally Posted by Larry Caldwell

Slash burning?

it doesn't look like fires. just gray/brown yuck.

[1auntie]

Originally Posted by Larry Caldwell

In Roseburg they call it an Air Stagnation Advisory. If the air quits moving, the smoke from the mills starts building up pretty quickly. Even without asthma, I have sometimes had trouble breathing around Roseburg.

Hi- What mills are you referring to? Are they located in Roseburg itself? Does that happen often? I live in the California Valley just north of Sacramento so the air here is far from pristine, but at least the wind blows through here pretty often.

[Larry Caldwell]

Originally Posted by 1auntie

Hi- What mills are you referring to? Are they located in Roseburg itself? Does that happen often? I live in the California Valley just north of Sacramento so the air here is far from pristine, but at least the wind blows through here pretty often.

Swanson Lumber has a stud mill on the south end of town that is run by scrap wood. It used to be called Sun Studs when the Sohn family owned it. Just on the other side of Roberts Ridge, there is an old mill along the river that spews air pollution every time they run it. It was shut down for a while, but has recently reopened. The big RFP mill at Dillard also runs on wood, and co-gens electricity, but it's a more modern installation and doesn't seem to be so bad about air pollution. All of these mills are right on the banks of the South Umpqua, and during an air stagnation advisory the air doesn't go anywhere. I haven't noticed a problem with the Keller mill on the north side of Roseburg, but I don't live out there.

[5thgenSF]

i haven't heard of a Keller Mill. Just Sun Studs (Swanson), Murphy Lumber in Sutherlin, and Roseburg Forest Products in Dillard and Riddle.

[Larry Caldwell]

The Keller Lumber mill is the cedar mill just outside the city limits on the north edge of town. You can see it on the east side of the freeway.

[5thgenSF]

Originally Posted by Larry Caldwell

The Keller Lumber mill is the cedar mill just outside the city limits on the north edge of town. You can see it on the east side of the freeway.

ah..that must be the place where the logs never seem to move!