Smoke Ready Week 2020

What’s in wildfire smoke?

Smoke contains numerous pollutants that are harmful to your health including volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and particulate matter (PM).  These two types of pollutant are the two most likely to affect your health. VOCs are chemical compounds that are gases at room temperature. They make your eyes sting and water and cause you general discomfort.

Particulate matter (PM) on the other hand is so small it can bypass your body’s defense system and travel to your lungs where it can easily pass into the bloodstream. Once it’s in your bloodstream it can cause all sorts of health problems.  Tomorrow we’ll discuss what smoke can do to smoke sensitive individuals.

Smoke Ready Week 2020

Stay Informed about Air Quality

An easily accessible way to understand air quality is to use the AQI. AQI stands for Air Quality Index. It’s a simple way to communicate air quality and how it might affect your health. For a more detailed explanation of AQI and how it correlates to pollutant levels, read this and this.

An AQI value of 100 is the threshold where air quality crosses over from “moderate” to “unhealthy for sensitive groups.” Check out the image below to see what the values are, who needs to be concerned at each level, and what they should do.

EPA AQI Categories

 

There are lots of resources available to help you find out if there are nearby wildfires and if the air quality in your area is deteriorated. Here’s a list of some to check out and bookmark:

·        AirNow - https://fire.airnow.gov/

o   Shows you air quality and satellite detected fires on a single map.

·        AirNow Enviroflash - http://www.enviroflash.info/signup.cfm

o   Sign up using your email or telephone number to receive air quality forecasts for your area. You can choose the minimum air quality level at which you want to receive forecasts.

·       EPA Smoke Sense Mobile App – https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=sti.com.ewhsa&hl=en_US

o   Find this in Google Play or the Apple App Store. Search for “EPA’s SmokeSense.” Enter your zip code and get air quality information, nearby fires, and other important smoke and health information.

·       Daily Air Quality Forecasts and Outdoor Open Burning Map – http://www2.deq.idaho.gov/air/AQIPublic/Map/OutdoorBurn

o   Provides a daily air quality forecast and informs you of any open burning bans in your area.

·        InciWeb - https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/

o   InciWeb is an interagency all-risk incident information management system that provides a single source for incident related information for the public.

·        MODIS Today - http://ge.ssec.wisc.edu/modis-today/

o   Satellite imagery of fires and smoke plumes when visible

Check back throughout the week as we give you lots of tips on how to prepare yourself for a smoky summer and protect your health!

It's Air Quality Awareness Week!!

If you’re from Idaho you know that wildfire season is nearly upon us and if you’re new to Idaho, here’s your warning: Wildfire season is almost here! And where there’s fire, there’s smoke. Not only will smoke take away your chance to see our beautiful Idaho scenery, you could have an itchy throat, watery eyes, and trouble breathing if you do head outside.

Smoke is particularly harmful for the elderly, the very young, pregnant people, and those with heart and lung conditions. There are things you can do to protect yourself from smoke impacts though. First and foremost, prepare your home for a season of smoke – check your home for air leaks, get as good of a filter as you can, and prepare to hunker down if you’re one of those smoke sensitive individuals. You could even create a clean air room in your home with an air cleaner. If that isn’t possible, look to public health officials to identify clean air spaces that you can visit and get some relief from the smoke.

If you do go outside, there are two easy steps you can do before you head out for the day – and you can do both right here on this blog. Start by checking the AQI map and seeing the air quality nearest you or where you plan to play. Secondly, during the wildfire season there will be a smoke forecast posted each day to let you know what kind of smoke impacts are expected for the day (start checking back in June). Using these tools, take action to protect yourself based on your personal level of tolerance and sensitivity to smoke.

So before you go, take a moment to check out this blog and get familiar with the information available here. Read through some old posts on health (Particulate Matter, Protect Yourself, Filters, Air Quality) . Click through the tabs at the top and tour the links. You’ve got some time to prepare but don’t leave it too late! Summer is coming and with it will come wildfire smoke. 

Season coming to a close

Yesterday's AQI was in the GOOD category across the state and is expected to stay there today and tomorrow! There are no significant smoke impacts expected today aside from some light upper level smoke across southern and central Idaho that should be clearing with no impacts expected at the surface.

This will be our last smoke report for the season unless some major fires break out and start significantly impacting us. We’ve had a nice, mild season this year with no major smoke events! 

Keep an eye on the AQI monitors if you are a smoke sensitive individual; we’re not totally out of the woods yet. There are still a few wildfires burning in Idaho and in our neighboring states: Nethker, Cove Creek, Shady, and Smith Knob are all still burning in Central Idaho and producing some smoke though fire activity is minimal. Up in northern Idaho, Shale Creek and Barren Hill are still burning and producing some smoke but are in very remote areas. The 204 Cow Fire and Granite Gulch are just to our west in Oregon and are also producing some smoke that is drifting over us. You can keep an eye on these fires at https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/ . This will give you information such as size, location, and fire activity. The top of the smoke blog or the DEQ main monitoring page can keep you informed of air quality at the monitor nearest you.

These wildfire potential outlooks show Idaho and the Pacific Northwest at a “normal” level for significant wildland fires for September and October.

No significant smoke impacts expected

There are still some wildfires burning in Idaho but there are no significant smoke impacts expected. Upper level smoke will be present, however, it is expected to clear with no impacts expected at the surface.

                                                    Smoke plumes from fires burning in Oregon and Central Idaho are visible.

Data source: GOES-16 Visible Imagery valid at 1600 MDT 02 September 2019.