Air Quality Summary Report-Pioneer Fire Thursday August 25, 2016

Air Quality Summary Report - Pioneer Fire             For: Thursday, August 25, 2016 

Air Resource Advisor: Tod Johnson (tod_johnson@nps.gov), ARA (T) Karen Dillman (kdillman@fs.fed.us)

FIRE, WEATHER AND SMOKE SYNOPSIS Weather:  Cold front will continue to move into the forecast area today, bringing the chance for isolated showers or thunderstorms. Better chance of rain in the east side of the fire. Temperatures in the low 60’s to 70 on the ridges, and 80 degrees in the valleys. Relative humidity mid 20’s on the ridgetops, and 15 percent in the valleys. Winds from the SE in the morning, switching to N NW in the afternoon. Up Canyon winds 3 to 5mph, gusting to 10 mph in the afternoon. Ridges will be N NW winds 4 to 7 with gusts to 10 mph or higher in exposed locations. Inversion break expected between around 1 pm. Fire Activity: Some active fire northeast of Pioneerville and north of highway 17 in Deadwood Canyon. NW winds could provide spotting conditions in the O’Keefe creek drainage. Smoke Summary: SE winds in the morning will switch mid-day to W NW.  Smoke concentrations will be heavier in the morning in the low valleys but scouring out in the afternoon when valley alignment and NW winds prevail. Smoke conditions will be similar to yesterday. Cooler temperatures and more stable atmosphere will allow smoke to pool into drainages. Today, the most significant smoke impacts will be to Lowman.   We will continue to experience smoke impacts from fires burning to the east, north and west of our forecast area.
Air Quality Outlook  (smoke related)
Sites with air quality monitors (based on concentration PM 2.5 ug/m3 24-hr avg.)
Site	Yesterday		Today		Tomorrow		Comments for Today (8/25/16)
Centerville	data		Moderate		Moderate		Improving conditions during the afternoon
Fairfield	Moderate		Good		Moderate		Expect hazy conditions throughout the day
Garden City	Good		Good		Moderate		Expect hazy conditions throughout the day
Garden Valley  School & ICP/Helibase	Moderate		Moderate		USG		Conditions much improved after inversion break
Idaho City	Good		Moderate		Moderate		Improving conditions during the afternoon
Ketchum	Moderate		Good		Moderate		Expect hazy conditions throughout the day
Meridian	Good		Good		Moderate		Expect hazy conditions throughout the day
Nampa	Good		Good		Moderate		Expect hazy conditions throughout the day
Lowman	Moderate		USG		USG		No significant improvements throughout the day
Stanley	Good		Good		Moderate		Some afternoon impacts from fires burning NE of town
Sites without a monitor
Site		Today		Tomorrow		Comments for Today
Lucky Peak Rec. Area		Moderate		Moderate		Conditions improve after inversion break
Disclaimer: Conditions may change quickly. These predictions are based on anticipated weather and fire activity. USG – Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups Idaho Smoke Blog: https://idsmoke.blogspot.com