Thursday, August 27, 2015

Air Quality Forecast - Chelan Lake & Methow Valley Fires - Thursday, August 27, 2015

Air Quality Forecast - Chelan Lake & Methow Valley Fires       Thursday, August 27, 2015
Prepared by: Carolyn Kelly, Air Resource Advisor Trainee (ckelly8384@gmail.com
                                    Andrea Holland, Air Resource Advisor (andreahollandsears@gmail.com)           
Note: Air monitors in Brewster and Manson are up and running. Look for their data at wasmoke.blogspot.com
Thursday: Yesterday, burnout operations on the Cougar Creek Fire, southwest of here, added additional smoke to areas near the Chelan Lake and Methow Valley Fires. Today, the smoke will gradually lift with the inversion with slight improvement in air quality.  However, strong winds in the morning will result in greater fire activity and generate more smoke which will settle in valley communities later in the afternoon and through the evening. 
Friday:  Light winds will be insufficient to cleanse smoke from affected communities. Smoke is likely to affect these areas more towards the evening as it settles into the valleys. Any burnout on the Cougar Fire could bring additional smoke into our area.
Saturday: A frontal passage is expected to bring strong winds and some rain.  This may provide communities downwind of the fires some relief from smoke conditions seen earlier in the week.
Site
August 27
Air quality –
Thursday
August 28
Air Quality – Friday
August 29
Air Quality –
Saturday
Comments
Chelan
Unhealthy
Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups
Moderate
Thursday will see a lift in the smoke by late morning but a return to unhealthy conditions in late afternoon as smoke settles into Lake Chelan area.
Manson
Very Unhealthy
Unhealthy
Moderate
Winthrop
Unhealthy
Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups
Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups

Twisp
Very Unhealthy
Unhealthy
Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups

Brewster
Very Unhealthy
Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups
Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups

Leavenworth
Moderate
Moderate
Good
Smoke from Cougar Fire will linger in this area and bring more smoke on Friday.
Wenatchee
Moderate
Moderate
Good
Smoke from Cougar Fire will linger in this area and bring more smoke on Friday.
Disclaimer: Conditions may change quickly. These predictions are based on anticipated weather and fire activity.  The air quality outlook is based on data from automated instruments that have not been subjected to a quality assurance review. AQI’s estimated for sites with air monitors.

For information on what each air Quality Index color code means,  click on the “Smoke and Health” tab.

No comments:

Post a Comment

We monitor this site during business hours, Monday through Friday, 8AM to 5PM. We encourage your questions, comments, and feedback. We ask that everyone be respectful of the opinions of others, and avoid comments that are defamatory, inappropriate or off-topic. If you have an emergency, please call 911.

We moderate all comments to prevent spam. Your comment will publish upon review