Unattended Death and Biohazard Cleanup in Oakridge, OR

Oakridge is a city in Lane County, Oregon, on Oregon Route 58 about 40 miles east of Eugene and 150 miles southeast of Portland, surrounded by the Willamette National Forest and the Cascade Range.

The 2020 census counted 3,206 residents in Oakridge, the largest population ever recorded in the city, with 1,464 households.

The city was originally a community called Hazeldell, whose post office was established on July 26, 1888, and when a station on the Southern Pacific Railroad opened in May 1912 it was named Oak Ridge for the surrounding topography, with the name changed to the single word Oakridge on July 19 of that year.

The area now known as Oakridge was first explored by Euro-Americans in 1852 as a possible route for pioneers coming from Central Oregon to the Willamette Valley, while before that it was the land of the Kalapuya, who had villages on the rivers since time immemorial.

Oakridge was a station on Southern Pacific's Cascade subdivision, a line that goes over Willamette Pass via the Natron Cutoff built in 1926, and the Union Pacific Railroad still operates the rails, while Amtrak's Coast Starlight passes through town but does not stop.

In February 2019 an Amtrak Coast Starlight train was stranded near Oakridge for over 36 hours after a rare heavy snowstorm.

On July 2, 1946, the Pope and Talbot Lumber Company purchased timberland near Oakridge, built a large sawmill by 1948 that eventually employed more than 500 people, and laid off all of its workers by 1985, after which the City of Oakridge took ownership of the former sawmill property.

Oakridge's economy is now centered on recreation, and its mottoes are Center of Oregon Outdoor Recreation and Mountain Biking Capital of the Northwest, with the nearby Willamette Pass Resort popular with outdoor enthusiasts.

Five streams are located in and around Oakridge: Salmon Creek, Salt Creek, Hills Creek, and the Middle and North forks of the Willamette River, the latter of which has been designated Wild and Scenic.

Diamond Peak, a shield volcano in the nearby Diamond Peak Wilderness, can be seen from various spots in and around Oakridge, and Waldo Lake, known as one of the purest lakes in the world, and Salt Creek Falls, one of the largest waterfalls in Oregon, are located about 20 miles east of town.