2006 Forest Fire Air Quality Updates
September 4, 2006
10:00 AM
Current Situation
Helena last night (sep 03) and shows how
pretty the sunsets are in Montana these days.
Montana got a “double whammy” of smoke yesterday and last night as westerly winds to the west and easterly winds from east pushed smoke into the western third of the state from two directions at once. UNHEALTHY levels of smoke are impacting Butte and Bozeman this morning. Whitefish, Kalispell and Helena are at UNHEALTHY FOR SENSITIVE GROUPS and Missoula, Hamilton, West Yellowstone and Livingston are seeing MODERATE levels at this time. Thick smoke is choking the area around the Paradise Valley Fire and the Yellowstone Valley from Livingston to Columbus is filled with smoke from the Derby Fire. Fire perimeters increased by more than 10,000 acres in the Northern Rockies region yesterday. The residual smoke from those fires is floating in bands aloft and will be mixing down to the surface again today about noon. See the forecast below for details. Smoke levels around the active fires are thought to be at UNHEALTHY or worse this morning. Residents in those areas and others impacted by the residual smoke are cautioned 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
MODIS satellite photo, Sunday Sep 03 at 2:42 PM. shows the
plumes from the Derby and Paradise Valley fires and the residual smoke
aloft blanketing the area west and north up to Helena.
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 4, 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 | Butte T8, T24 Mill Creek area (est) Bozeman Vis(8) |
| Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups | Kalispell Vis(1) Helena T24 Whitefish Vis(1) |
| Moderate | Missoula T8 Hamilton T8 West Yellowstone T8 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
Dispersion will be very poor in valley areas today until at least noon. This will keep the areas near the active fires very smoky until early afternoon, then the smoke in those areas will ease up a little bit. When the mixing height rises to the level of the smoke bands aloft, residual smoke will start impacting surface areas that have seen some relief this morning as the inversions kept the smoke aloft overnight. Heavy local impacts are likely in many areas today. Smoke will continue to move into the state from Idaho today and smoke from the Derby and Paradise Valley fires will continue to move mostly towards the west under a continued easterly flow over that area. Smoke impacts will be occasionally UNHEALTHY or worse in many areas today. Residents are strongly cautioned to pay attention to local conditions and use the visibility guidelines to guide their activity decisions as the situation changes.
John Coefield
Meteorologist
MDEQ
