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Air Monitoring Particulate Data
2006 Forest Fire Air Quality Updates
August 28, 2006
10:00 AM
Current Situation
Smoke from the fires in Washington is looping up through British Columbia and Alberta this morning and will be flowing down through central and eastern Montana this afternoon causing hazy skies. Smoke is also drifting into western Montana and the Bitterroot Valley this morning. The smoke aloft is staying off the surface this morning but will start mixing down this afternoon. See the forecast below for details. The Ulm Peak Fire south of Noxon was active yesterday and some residual smoke is noticeable in the Clark Fork Canyon in that area. The Sun Dog fire north of Whitefish is putting out a visible puff of smoke this morning and smoke in that area may be a problem. All of the reporting stations are clear this morning but local impacts may still be an issue. Residents near the active fires are advised to 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
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 28, 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
Winds will be from the northwest and west today as the ridge overhead moves off to the east. Southwest winds will start into western Montana later today and tonight, bringing smoke from the Idaho fires back into the Bitterroot. Dispersion will not be great today and smoke impacts near the active fire may cause problems. There will be enough mixing to bring some of the smoke aloft down to the surface this afternoon. Critical fire weather conditions will persist through tomorrow and residents need to stay aware of local conditions and use the visibility guidelines to guide their activity decisions as the situation changes.
John Coefield
Meteorologist
MDEQ
