2006 Forest Fire Air Quality Updates
September 9, 2006
10:00 AM
Current Situation
The sky is hazy and MODERATE levels of smoke are present in most areas this morning but none of the reporting stations are worse than that. Smoke levels near the active fires are expected to be VERY UNHEALTHY or worse as the dispersion is very limited and residual smoke can build up to dangerous levels under the inversions. The smoke will start moving off to the east over a wide part of the state today ahead as a weak system moves north of the state. See the forecast below for details. Local smoke episodes are likely in many locations today, residents should pay attention to conditions in their area 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 9, 2006
Locations and severity of forest fire smoke reports since midnight of the date above at reporting stations.
| Smoke Conditions | City |
|---|---|
| Hazardous | |
| Very Unhealthy | Active Fire area (est) |
| Unhealthy | |
| Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups | |
| Moderate | Whitefish T8 Kalispell T8 Missoula T8 Hamilton T24 Helena T8 Bozeman Vix(2) Great Falls Vis(1) Butte T8 |
| Good |
|
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
There will some local gusty winds and some showers today but the overall dispersion will remain limited and smoke and haze will continue to be a problem throughout the day. As the winds start to switch around to the west, smoke will be pushed into areas that have not been impacted much lately. This should be good news for Butte and Bozeman, but Billings may see more smoke later today. Not much change expected tomorrow but fire activity levels are reduced in some areas that received a little rain yesterday and that may help. Smoke trapped in the valleys near the active fires will moderate a little this afternoon but increased fire activity as the inversions lift may still produce VERY UNHEALTHY impacts or worse in those locations. Residents are strongly cautioned to check their local conditions using the visibility guidelines to guide their activity decisions as the situation changes.
John Coefield
Meteorologist
MDEQ
