Ashland, Ore. — Armories across Oregon are temporarily closing their doors. Events are being cancelled, over concerns about lead.
The National Guard is cancelling all community events in toxic armories across the country. That includes the armory in east main street in Ashland. The National Guard said lead levels are high at armories, because of old indoor firing ranges.
The order to close armories isn’t having much of an impact here. Ashland’s armory closed to the public back in May 2015. The indoor range has since been sealed, and work is being done to fix the problem. That work, could take several months.
“We have to get a licensed, bonded contractor to ensure that we meet all of their criteria. So it might take up to a year, possibly a year and a half,” said Maj Stephen Bomar, Oregon Military Department.
The order to close armories does not impact the historic Ashland armory on Oak Street, which is now an event venue. It’s been tested and cleared, and all scheduled events are happening as planned. The Medford armory isn’t impacted by the close order, either. It’s currently undergoing renovation.
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