Fire & Smoke Home
Air Monitoring Particulate Data
2006 Forest Fire Air Quality Updates
August 16, 2006
10:00 AM
Current Situation
There is still a lot of smoke and haze aloft over the state today but surface concentrations are much improved from yesterday after a round of showers that has been moving up through the areas that were smoky all day. There is still smoke in the northern Bitterroot and the Florence and Lolo areas are still being posted at UNHEALTHY FOR SENSITIVE GROUPS. The Gash Creek fire is still putting out a lot of smoke into the immediate area. It looks hazy in the Flint Creek Valley and conditions are likely at least MODERATE there. Hamilton is at MODERATE today as well. Moisture is moving into the state with rain in the forecast. See below for details. Local impacts from nearby fires will still be a problem today. Residents near a fire 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 16, 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 | Florence (est) Lolo (est) |
| Moderate |
Hamilton T8 |
| 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
Southwest flow continues to push into the state bringing moisture along with smoke from the fires in Idaho. There are Red Flag warnings in Idaho today and more smoke could be headed our way if they loose a lot of acreage there today. Central and northern Montana look to get significant amounts of rain later today and tomorrow and that should ease fire concerns there. Southwestern Montana does not look as favorable for rain so fire will continue to be a problem in that area. 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
