2006 Forest Fire Air Quality Updates
September 15, 2006
10:00 AM
Current Situation
The arrival of the much awaited “season ending event” has changed us from smoke advisories to snow advisories this morning. Rain and snow today and over the early weekend should put a final cap on this year’s fire season. A few local impacts are still possible near the active fires but no widespread smoke episodes are expected. See the forecast below for details. This is expected to be the last smoke advisory this year after 65 consecutive days. This precipitation will not put out all of the fires in the heavy fuels right away and residents adjacent to the lingering fires still need to pay attention to conditions in their location and use the VISIBILITY GUIDELINES to determine smoke levels in their area and guide their activity decisions through the day as conditions change.
Morning satellite photo centered on Great Falls
WeatherBug web cam photo of Livingston, MT 59047 by Pat Gilligan
DEQ web cam facing north towards the "Sleeping Giant" mountain
MODIS Active Fire Mapping Program
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 September 15, 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 | Active Fire area (est) |
| Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups | |
| Moderate |
|
T1(x) |
One-hour TEOM value (number of values) |
| T8(x)) | Eight-hour average TEOM value (number of values) |
| T244 | 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 fires in southern and central Idaho have calmed down a lot today, but they have not had as much precipitation so some smoke over the border is still possible next week if they start to pick up again. Only local smoke impacts are expected for the next few days and no significant smoke intrusions are likely for the rest of this year. Residents immediately adjacent to smoldering fuels may need to be aware of smoke levels in their areas for the next few days and should use the visibility guidelines to guide their activity decisions as the situation changes.
John Coefield
Meteorologist
MDEQ
