Published 12:20 pm Friday, May 1, 2026 Smoke from prescribed burns set by federal agencies drifted into Bend for a second straight day Friday, pushing air quality into hazardous levels in parts of the city. The smoke again traced a southwest-to-northeast path across Bend, similar to the movement of smoke on Thursday . The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality recorded its highest air quality index reading above 500 early Friday morning at Ponderosa Elementary School, where the agency has instruments that measure particulate matter. Data from PurpleAir showed the plume moving along the same corridor as the Deschutes River, a pattern influenced by local terrain and overnight air flow. “It’s a combination of the location of the burn, overnight flow that follows the river and brings smoke back towards Bend, and wind direction,” said Antony Sparrow. Prescribed burns near Bend this week, conducted the U.S.…