The combination of good weather (a high pressure system), wildfire smoke from British Columbia, and fireworks led to very high air pollution last night in the Puget Sound area. This was particularly true in Pierce County where air quality was in the Very Unhealthy range earlier this morning. Thankfully air quality has greatly improved and most areas are Moderate.
Air quality as of 12pm 7/5/2023
With another hot day today we should see good vertical mixing – when the air near the ground heats up and rises, bringing smoke with it. This will dilute the smoke and continue to improve air quality.
The majority of the pollution we saw last night was due to fireworks. The wildfire smoke from British Columbia, which arrived earlier in the day on July 4th, only pushed us from Good to Moderate. We don’t expect more of that smoke in the near future, though the fires are still burning and the possibility of smoke later on remains.
Given that, we may see another (smaller) pollution spike tonight depending on how many fireworks are left over.
Also, there is a wildfire near Shelton, the McEwan fire, that started yesterday afternoon and has burned around 250 acres as of last count. Crews are working to create fire lines to prevent the fire from spreading. Air quality in Shelton is currently at Unhealthy For Sensitive Groups and smoke impacts are expected to persist for the time being. So far we expect impacts to be local, but models show that some smoke could reach Pierce County overnight.
Sensors in Skamania county along the Columbia river are showing USG smoke impacts from the Tunnel Five fire.We will continue to monitor the situation and update as
needed.
Ban fireworks...
ReplyDeleteFireworks are banned on all public lands and in many municipalities (e.g. Bellingham, Bellevue, King County unincorporated areas, etc.) but many people ignore the bans. See here for a list of all the cities in Western WA with fireworks bans: https://www.kuow.org/stories/before-you-spark-up-know-where-western-washington-bans-fireworks
DeleteFireworks ARE banned in many area. Problem is no-one wants to enforce the bans. And now we're paying for it.
DeleteDo y'all have any opinion as to the aggregate impact of 4th of July BBQs on AQI? Seems that if a significant percentage of the population is "burning stuff outside" aka BBQ'ing, that there will be a noticeable uptick in smoke production - any chance this has an effect on region wide AQI?
ReplyDeleteBackyard BBQ probably has an effect at the neighborhood scale, but not "regional". There are many sources of PM2.5 in urban areas at all times (e.g. cars, industry, restaurants, dust, etc.), and that extra BBQ could bump up the AQI a little, but it would be a minimal contribution to the regional air quality. Smoke emitted from a BBQ is near ground level and so cannot travel far, while smoke from fireworks is emitted further up, and contributes to the regional air quality. Also, fireworks are set off later at night, when the boundary layer is shallow and smoke can't dissipate as easily, while BBQ is usually more prominent in the daylight hours.
DeleteBans are useless when they’re not enforced. What can be done?
ReplyDeleteCan we get a temporary air monitor up here by the McEwan fire? It will be weeks before it's mopped up. We're at a higher elevation than the single one located in Shelton, at sea-level.
ReplyDeleteThanks!
Is there a good budget air quality monitor device for home use? Like if I want to gauge how the air is right outside my home reasonably well?
ReplyDeleteWe cannot endorse any particular brand, however you can see a nice comparison here: http://www.aqmd.gov/aq-spec/evaluations/criteria-pollutants/summary-pm . I think the egg, dylos, purple air, clarity, and alphasense are the ones I've heard people using. Purple Air is probably the most popular for home users but that is not an endorsement. Note that these are "sensors" and not air quality "monitors" like the ones we use for the statewide network.
Delete