Amid a historic early fire season in Oregon that is far worse than expected, Rep. Dacia Grayber, D-Portland, warned residents: Get your Go Bag ready. Know what you’ll grab on your way out the door. Have an evacuation plan for where you’ll head.

“I know it sounds silly when you live in Washington County or city of Portland, and you’re like, ‘Why do I need to evacuate? It’s never going to happen here,’” Grayber said during a legislative town hall Monday on Zoom.

“In the 2020 fires, most of Tigard was actually under a Level 1 evacuation warning.”

She added: “Have a Go Bag, and this isn’t just for fires. This is important for any kind of extreme weather. So earthquakes, winter storms – just having something that can help you get out of your house and move somewhere quickly.”

Grayber spoke during a constituent meeting hosted by Democratic Reps. Lisa Reynolds of Beaverton, Emerson Levy of Bend and Courtney Neron of Wilsonville.

Oregon currently is the No. 1 target for the nation’s wildfire-fighting efforts. Grayber warned that every part of the state likely will suffer wildfire smoke at some point this summer.

For those without air conditioning or other air filtration systems, she recommended building an inexpensive and effective clean air box out of regular furnace air filters and a box fan.

A firefighter/paramedic, Grayber has been filling in for colleagues deployed to the dozens of wildfires in Oregon, including four megafires that have already charred a fire season’s worth of land.

“We are out of firefighters in the state of Oregon, so all of us who are professional firefighters are working around the clock. Normally I would be deployed. But because of my role as a state legislator, I’ve asked to not be deployed and to backfill,” she said. “I’ve been working some very busy stations.”

Firefighting brings Americans together across geographic, political and professional lines. This week the National Interagency Coordination Center’s jet ferried firefighters to Oregon from Eastern states.

Rural and urban legislators – including Republican Reps. Mark Owens of Crane, Rick Lewis of Silverton and Anna Scharf of Amity; Sen. Jeff Golden, D-Ashland; and Senate President Rob Wagner, D-Lake Oswego – have been disseminating wildfire information in their constituent newsletters and social media. Darrell Fuller, an Oregon lobbyist and Red Cross volunteer, is serving as the Red Cross’ representative at the state Emergency Coordination Center.

Legislators met online Monday with state fire officials.

“They didn’t give us great news. In the last ten years, we’ve seen an average of about 650,000 Oregon acres burn each year. At this point, something like 680,000 acres have already burned,” Golden wrote Wednesday in his constituent newsletter. “So we’ve already reached the numbers for a grimly extreme wildfire season, with at least two or three months of extreme wildfire danger still to go. This is the brutal reality of a landscape, shared with most of the western U.S., that’s getting hotter, drier and windier every year.”

Monday was Earth’s hottest day on record, with a worldwide average of 62.87 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the European climate service.

With many roads closed due to fire activity, Owens and Sen. Lynn Findley, R-Vale canceled next week’s town hall in Vale that was to feature Will Lathrop, the Republican candidate for attorney general.

“Once we have reached better containment of the fires in the surrounding areas we will reschedule this event and resume in-person community town halls. Please continue your prayers for our communities and cities across House District 60 and Oregon as they continue to battle the fires,” Owens wrote to constituents on Wednesday.

“Stay safe if you need to evacuate, and reach out if you are facing difficulties finding or accessing resources. Continue to have grace and patience with each other as emotions are high and everyone is stretched thin.”