Wildfire Smoke's Deadly Grip on America's Heartland Oregon's Josephine County is a place of breathtaking natural beauty, with lush forests and winding rivers.
However, beneath its picturesque surface lies a more sinister reality. The county has been ravaged by the very climate that once drew people to this corner of America.
According to a 2025 study published in Nature magazine, Josephine County has one of the highest rates of wildfire smoke deaths linked to climate breakdown in the US, tied with Trinity County, California.