The Pony Complex fire, which is a group of fires that started near Mountain Home on Thursday night, is actively burning. As of Friday afternoon, fire managers estimated that the total acreage for all the fires in the complex is over 30,000 acres. For additional information on the Pony Complex fire, or other fires, visit www.inciweb.org.
Areas to the north and northeast of the Pony Complex fire can expect to see moderate smoke impacts, with periods of heavy smoke during the nighttime and morning hours, however, during the day, smoke in the valleys should mix out. Areas closer to the fires can expect to see moderate to heavy smoke impacts throughout the day. The satellite image below, taken Friday afternoon, shows smoke from the Pony Complex fire heading northwest following the mountains. During the evening hours this smoke will drain into the mountain communities as well as the Treasure Valley.
Air quality in the Treasure Valley, Idaho City, Garden Valley, and Mountain Home areas is forecasted to be in the upper Moderate through the weekend; although, there may be periods when the air is in unhealthy for sensitive groups range. All other areas in Idaho are forecasted to be in the Good air quality through the weekend. Please check for updates on air quality during the weekend by visiting http://www.deq.idaho.gov/air-quality/monitoring/daily-reports-and-forecasts.aspx.
This forecast may be updated, as needed, during the weekend. Please refer to the Idaho Smoke Information Blog for updated information (www.idsmoke.blogspot.com).
4 emergency monitors have been installed in Idaho to help monitor smoke impacts from wildfires:
· DEQ installed a monitor in Challis for the Lodgepole fire. The information can be found at http://app.airsis.com/USFS/ Choose monitor #Idaho1004
· The USFS installed monitors in Lowman, Atlanta, and Challis. The information can be found at http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/cgi-bin/smoke.pl
o Lowman monitor is Smoke#19
o Atlanta monitor is Smoke#13
o Challis monitor is Smoke#21 – co-located with DEQ’s monitor
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/
Smoke forecasts are dependent on predicted fire growth and weather. If conditions change unexpectedly, impacts could occur. Communities nearby active fires may experience periods of air quality which are Moderate (visibility of 6-10 miles). 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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