2006 Forest Fire Air Quality Updates
September 2, 2006
10:00 AM
Current Situation
Smoke trapped under a strong inversion is laying in the northern Paradise Valley and down the Yellowstone towards Columbus. This morning’s satellite photo also shows a band of smoke over Bozeman that has pushed west over the mountains. MODERATE smoke levels are present in Bozeman and Livingston and UNHEALTHY levels or worse are expected near the active fires south of Livingston and Big Timber. Smoke has also started to accumulate in the southern Bitterroot valley and a spot of smoke can be seen in the north fork of the Flathead River valley at this time. Dispersion will be poor most areas today until later this afternoon. Some smoke will start coming over the border from Idaho into western and southwestern Montana this afternoon but transport winds will continue generally easterly on the east side of the divide. See the forecast below for details. Local smoke impacts will be a problem today, residents in the smoky areas 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
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 2, 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 | Derby Fire area (est) Mill Creek area (est) |
| Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups | |
| Moderate | Bozeman Vis(1) Livingston 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
Strong inversions will remain in place through the morning hours and into the afternoon. This will reduce the fire activity but will also leave smoke trapped in those areas near the active fire. As the day heats up and the mixing heights increase the smoke on the surface will thin out and visibility will improve. It will be quite warm and dry this afternoon and the fires start to become more active and put out more smoke. This may push smoke into areas that are OK right now. General flow on the east side of the continental divide will remain easterly today. This will keep the smoke about where it is today and should keep Billings and areas to the east out of the smoke today. Residents should pay attention to local conditions and use the visibility guidelines to guide their activity decisions as the situation changes.
John Coefield
Meteorologist
MDEQ
