Joseph, OregonSkies above this small town—located so far east it nearly touches the border with Idaho—were clear on Friday morning. But locals across the eastern part of the state saw signs that the disaster consuming western and southern Oregon would soon head their way. A waitress at a café pointed at the haze that had settled over the Wallowa mountains, turning them into a blue silhouette. The winds had started to blow east, and soon the picturesque main street of B&Bs and gift shops would be covered in ash and smoke. By Sunday the café could no longer seat patrons outside.

Six months into the coronavirus pandemic, after a summer of protests over police brutality and racism, Oregon faces a third crisis: