Updated Noon MDT Thursday, August 22, 2013
Valid through noon MDT Friday, August 23, 2013
Smoke Outlook
Idaho DEQ has issued a Stage 1 Forecast and Caution the following counties
· Camas, Blaine, and Lemhi – The Stage 1 is effective through Friday, August 23, at which time it will be re-evaluated and either extended or lifted.
Air quality has begun to improve in the Ketchum/Hailey area. Air quality was in the moderate to good range in the morning and should remain in to the good to moderate in the afternoon. Smoke will move back in during the night and result in the unhealthy conditions again tomorrow morning.
Salmon is experiencing Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups to Moderate air quality due to smoke from the Thunder City Fire, which is located 4 miles east of Stibnite, Idaho. Salmon will continue to experience moderate to unhealthy air quality for most of the day today and into tomorrow. Air quality may improve to the moderate category for a couple of hours this afternoon before deteriorating back to the Unhealthy category. So far, Challis has only seen light smoke impacts from the fires in central Idaho.
Atlanta is experience significant smoke impacts due to the Little Queens fire, which is located north of Atlanta. Air quality is forecasted to be in the Unhealthy for Atlanta today and tomorrow morning.
Sensitive groups such as people with heart and/or lung disease, adults over age 65, young children, and pregnant women should avoid all outdoor activities until air quality improves. Everyone else should minimize outdoor activities. When air quality is in the hazardous category (visibility of less than 1 mile) everyone should stay indoors and avoid exertion.
Westerly winds will continue to transport smoke towards the east today and south-southwest winds will transport smoke towards the north-northeast tomorrow morning. Areas close to the fires will continue to experience periods of heavy smoke impacts. Smoke from the Incendiary fire near Kamiah in north central Idaho is expected to be transported to the southeast; however, tonight the smoke should drain down valley and settle in the lower valleys.
6 emergency monitors have been installed in Idaho to help monitor smoke impacts from wildfires:
· DEQ has installed monitors in Mountain Home, Fairfield, Ketchum, and east Boise. The information can be found at http://app.airsis.com/USFS/fleet.aspx
o Fairfield – #Idaho1000
o Mountain Home - #Idaho1002
o Ketchum - #Idaho1005
o Boise - #Idaho1003
· The USFS installed monitors in Atlanta and Challis. The information can be found at http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/cgi-bin/smoke.pl
o Atlanta monitor is Smoke#13
o Challis monitor is Smoke#21
o Users should be aware that the Forest Service site reports the data in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). To convert from UTS to Mountain Daylight Time, subtract 6 hours.
View DEQ near-real time monitoring at: http://airquality.deq.idaho.gov/
Visit the Idaho Smoke Information Blog at: www.idsmoke.blogspot.com
Smoke forecasts are dependent on predicted fire growth and weather. If conditions change unexpectedly, impacts could occur. When visibility starts to go below 5 miles, sensitive groups should minimize outdoor activities. Everyone else should minimize prolonged or physical activity outdoors. Refer to the Smoke and Health Tab on the Idaho Smoke Information Blog for additional health information.
Your eyes are your best tools to determine if it’s safe to be outside. Even if you smell smoke, the air quality may still be good.
| AQI Category | Visibility (miles) |
| Good | 11+ |
| Moderate | 6-10 |
| Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups | 3-5 |
| Unhealthy | 1½ -2¾ |
| Very Unhealthy | 1-1¼ |
| Hazardous | Less than 1 |
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