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Air Monitoring Particulate Data
2006 Forest Fire Air Quality Updates
August 11, 2006
10:00 AM
Current Situation
Winds and rains have cleared the sky over northwest Montana this morning. Smoke from the Gash Creek fire is visible on this morning satellite photo below. Southwest Montana is getting some smoke from Idaho and West Yellowstone has reported UNHEALTHY FOR SENSITIVE GROUPS for the last two hours. Lewistown had a couple of hours of MODERATE conditions early this morning while a plume of residual smoke from the Idaho fires passed overhead. The plume is still clearly visible on this morning’s satellite photo moving off to the northeast. Sidney has been seeing some smoke this morning as well. Many small fires are burning in Montana this morning and local impacts will be of concern. See the forecast below. Residents in areas with nearby fires should pay attention to current conditions and use the VISIBILITY GUIDELINES to determine smoke levels in their area and guide their activity decisions.
Morning satellite photo centered on Great Falls
Webcams
Red Eagle MT from St. Mary Visitor Center
The Big Mountain Ski area webcam near Whitefish
The DEQ webcam looking north to the "Sleeping Giant" mountain
This morning’s analysis from NOAA’s satellite services division shows the active fires in Montana and the smoke plumes combining and spreading downwind (the analyzed smoke is based on yesterday’s satellite coverage, the fire detects are based on last nights satellite coverage).
Red indicates hot spot detected. Grey represents smoke seen by satellite. Fire
size is exaggerated for visibility at this scale. To identify individual fires on graphic above go
here: http://activefiremaps.fs.fed.us/lg_fire2.php
Real time particulate information is currently available in most of the larger urban areas from several different sources including: DEQ run PM-10 BAMS and PM2.5 BAMS, NWS ASOS visibility monitors, and USFS remote access Nephelometers and BAMS.
This morning’s smoke report is below, comparing particulate levels where we have information to MDEQ’s Forest Fire health advisory levels. Smoke Categories
Updated 10:00 AM August 11, 2006
Locations and severity of forest fire smoke reports since midnight of the date above at reporting stations.
| Smoke Conditions | City |
|---|---|
| Hazardous | |
| Very Unhealthy | |
| Unhealthy | Gash Creek (est) |
| Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups | West Yellowstone T1(2) |
| Moderate |
Lewistown Vis(1) |
| Good |
|
T1(x) |
One-hour TEOM value (number of values) |
| T8(x) | Eight-hour average TEOM value (number of values) |
| T24 | 24 hour average TEOM value |
| Vis(x) | Visibility value (number of hours) |
| Vis(am/pm) | Visibility value from twice/day reporting stations |
Local impacts in areas immediately adjacent to active fires are expected to exceed some or all of the advisory levels. DEQ recommends the use of local visibility guidelines to evaluate possible health risks and make informed activity decisions.
Forecast
Winds will be generally out of the southwest today and will turn westerly later this afternoon and tonight. This will bring smoke from Idaho into southwest Montana and then by morning we may start seeing smoke from Washington into western Montana again. Local impacts near active fires will need attention. Residents should stay aware of their situation and use the visibility guidelines to guide their activity decisions as the situation changes.
John Coefield
Meteorologist
MDEQ
