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Air Monitoring Particulate Data
2006 Forest Fire Air Quality Updates
August 18, 2006
10:00 AM
Current Situation
Fog is obscuring the surface of much of Montana this morning as clear skies last night after a day of rain has produced extensive radiation fog over much of the state. The fog is readily apparent on this morning’s satellite photo. The fog is lifting quickly and blue sky is the rule above the fog today. The bottom satellite photo centered farther west over Spokane shows a substantial bank of residual smoke aloft over Washington that has already reached Idaho under a westerly flow. That smoke will be reaching Montana before noon today, see the forecast below for details. All of the reporting stations are at GOOD conditions this morning. Some local impacts may still occur 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
Morning satellite photo centered on Spokane
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 18, 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 | |
| Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups | |
| Moderate | |
| 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
The smoke aloft in Washington will start pushing into the state this morning under a westerly flow. The sky will get hazy from west to east and later this afternoon some of the smoke will mix down to the surface for MODERATE conditions under the thickest part of the smoke. Fire activity levels in Montana will start to pick up later this afternoon as the temperatures rise and areas wetted by yesterday’s rain start to dry out. Local smoke impacts may be a problem again tonight and tomorrow. Residents near active fires should stay aware of their situation and use the visibility guidelines to guide their activity decisions as the situation changes.
John Coefield
Meteorologist
MDEQ
