Scorching weekend won't be smoke and smog free; plus a new tool expands smoke monitoring

As temperatures approach triple digits in western WA on Sunday and exceed that in eastern WA through Tuesday, we're also looking at some smoke impacts in places. And possibly some ozone in two known hotspots. 

Local fires

The Mosier fire in Wasco County, Oregon is currently sending light smoke into south central WA and causing some Moderate air. As surface winds turn offshore tomorrow, assuming the fire continues to puff, we could see some smoke drift along the gorge toward Portland/ Vancouver and cause air to degrade to Moderate. The current smoke forecast model is a bit pessimistic for Saturday. No reason to suspect that most of eastern WA will see Moderate air tomorrow. It should be mostly restricted to the gorge and the south central Cascades. Other fires in north central WA could cause occasional Moderate conditions elsewhere. 

Here's the most likely smoke forecast for the whole weekend.

More distant fires

Upper level flow turns south by Sunday and models are suggesting some smoke from norther California fires could be transported over western WA by then. Not expecting much of it to mix down to the lowlands, but those views of Mt Rainier might not be that clear, and sunsets might be a bit more resplendent. 

Siberian smoke hanging around the Gulf of Alaska is mostly expected to get shunted to our north. Not much of it is mixing down to the surface anyway. 

Ozone

Cascade foothills in eastern King and Pierce counties, and also the Tri Cities could see ozone levels (loosely called "smog") creeping up over the weekend. More info on ozone pollution here.

And finally, here's an exciting new data tool 

EPA has partnered with the US Forest service to make available data collected nationwide (mostly by citizen scientists) using PurpleAir sensors. These sensors are known as "low cost sensors" for a reason, and they are not able to match the data quality and accuracy of permanent sensors. So while they often help fill data voids, there are a lot of caveats with their use. 

EPA & USFS worked with states around the country to develop conversion factors to transform PurpleAir data to better match up against permanent monitors in near-real-time. Corrected data are now available alongside the rest of the fine particle pollution (PM_2.5) data. PurpleAir monitors are shown as squares. Here's a snapshot of the short explanation on the page. 

Staying Safe in Extreme Heat and Poor Air Quality: Conversation with Spokane Regional Health District Health Officer, Dr. Bob Lutz

Need your questions answered by Dr. Lutz? Visit SRHD's Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/spokanehealth/

9/21/12 Wildfire Smoke Forecast

Washington Air Quality Advisory (WAQA) Chart:

https://fortress.wa.gov/ecy/enviwa/App_AQI/AQI.en-US.pdf

Ecology Air Quality Monitoring Network Map: https://fortress.wa.gov/ecy/enviwa/Default.ltr.aspx

  -note, click on the dots and you can then click on View more information to find out the latest hourly values even if the dot is gray

              

Central Region, Ecology Air Quality Report                               Chelan County monitor locations: Wenatchee- “Hazardous” Leavenworth- “Very Unhealthy” Chelan- “Unhealthy”                Okanogan County monitor locations: Omak - “Moderate” Winthrop – “Unhealthy” Twisp-  “Unhealthy”                Kittitas County monitor location: Ellensburg- “Very Unhealthy”                Klickitat County monitor location: Goldendale- “Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups” Eastern Region, Ecology Air Quality Report Blue Mountain Area Clarkston  -  “Unhealthy” Dayton  -   “Moderate” Walla Walla  -  “Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups” Palouse/Spokane Area Pullman  - “Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups” Rosalia  - “Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups” LaCrosse  -  “Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups” Spokane  -  “Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups” Deer Park  -  monitor down Northeast Colville  -  “Good” Wellpinit  -  “Moderate” Columbia Basin Kennewick  -  “Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups” Mesa  - “Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups” Moses Lake  - “Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups” Ritzville  - “Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups”

USDA FOREST SERVICE Air Quality Report            Chelan County monitor location: Wenatchee (Confluence Park)- “Hazardous” Cashmere- “Hazardous” Entiat: “Hazardous”            Grant County monitor location: Quincy- “Unhealthy”                      Kittitas County monitor location: Cle Elum- “Unhealthy”

Another very useful webpage for grab hourly and 24 hour data, Puget Sound Clean Air and their air quality tool:

http://airgraphing.pscleanair.org/

Remember the Eastern Washington Burn Ban remains effective through Monday, September, 24, 2012 .

Air Quality forecast, 8AM Friday 21 September 2012
Issued by Ranil Dhammapala, Washington State Dept. of Ecology

Western WA has cleared out well under the stronger marine push and will stay that way today. Air quality in the Columbia Basin and the Palouse/ Spokane has been deteriorating very gradually over the last few days and is mostly in the "Unhealthy for sensitive groups" category this morning. Air in these areas may improve slightly but not hugely, Saturday evening through Sunday evening.

The areas of serious concern- located at the eastern foothills of the Cascades- continue to remain problematic. Air in Wenatchee has remained in the "Hazardous" category for several days now, with each day being a little worse than the previous. Cashmere and Entiat are in a similar situation, while Leavenworth, Ellensburg, the upper and lower Yakima Valley and Chelan have been recording Very Unhealthy conditions. This scenario is not expected to change much over the next few days.

The approach and passage of a low pressure system Friday night through Saturday evening gives rise to a small threat of dry lightning in the Washington Cascades mostly south of Lake Chelan. Given the dry fuels in the area, we can only pray that there won’t be new fires for the already stretched firefighters to contend with.

Some cooler temperatures are on tap for eastern WA next week and this should help reduce fire activity, but the kind of soaking rain needed is a notable absentee from the forecast.

The National Weather Service issued an Air Quality Alert for much of eastern Washington:
http://forecast.weather.gov/wwamap/wwatxtget.php?cwa=otx&wwa=air%20quality%20alert

Spanish WAQA

9/20/12 Smoke spreads across Eastern Washington with little relief in sight

      Smoke spreads across Eastern Washington with little relief in sight

            YAKIMA - Smoke is filling up the low-lying areas of Eastern Washington with weather patterns keeping a lid on most of the region with no relief in sight, according to the Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology).

            "Unfortunately, areas around Wenatchee remain in the worst shape," said Sean Hopkins, Ecology air quality specialist in Yakima. "At the same time, other areas are experiencing unhealthy air anywhere smoke lingers from the hundreds of wildfires that are burning."

            Specifically, Ecology and Forest Service air-quality monitors in Chelan County are reading in the hazardous and unhealthy ranges. Poorer conditions are trending in the Quincy area and conditions could worsen around Spokane, Pullman and Clarkston.

            Monitor measurements in Ellensburg are in the unhealthy range, but is trending better than earlier hazardous readings. Cle Elum readings by the Forest Service are moderate, showing some improvement.

      All residents in the Wenatchee area should stay indoors and curtail their physical activities both indoors and out. Doors and windows should remain closed. In the remainder of the Yakima and Columbia basins common sense precautions should be taken by everyone, but sensitive groups -- such as children, the elderly and heart patients -- are particularly vulnerable.

     

      The biggest health threat comes from the fine particles in smoke. These can cause burning eyes, runny nose, bronchitis and other illnesses. Smoky air also can aggravate pre-existing heart and lung diseases, and even lead to death.

     

      Follow air quality online at the Washington Department of Ecology wildfire/smoke Web page:  Go to Ecology's home page at http://www.ecy.wa.gov/ and click on "Wildfire smoke updates" on the right side under "Spotlight."

      

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Media Contact: Joye Redfield-Wilder, Communications Manager, 509-575-2610; joye.redfield-wilder@ecy.wa.gov

Ecology's website: http://www.ecy.wa.gov

Ecology's social media: http://www.ecy.wa.gov/about/newmedia.html

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9/19/12 Air quality in Wenatchee remains hazardous

Washington Department of Ecology news

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – Sept. 19, 2012

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                Air quality in Wenatchee remains hazardous

      SPOKANE   Smoke from wildfires continues to create hazardous air conditions in the Wenatchee area today for the eighth day in a row. Residents along the east side of the Cascades from Yakima northward through the Methow Valley to Omak continue bracing against the onslaught of smoke. 

      Ellensburg experienced some clearing Tuesday, but it was short-lived and the area filled in with smoke overnight. Ellensburg was the only part of the east Cascades region to get a slight reprieve Tuesday.

      All residents in the Wenatchee area should stay indoors and limit their physical activities. Doors and windows should remain closed.

      Aside from the very northern counties in Eastern Washington north of Highway 2, the smoke will continue today with little daytime clearing. Conditions are not expected to improve significantly in the next several days.

      In far Eastern Washington, most areas have “good” to “moderate” air quality today, but Moses Lake has seen some excursions into the “unhealthy for sensitive populations” zone, according to Air Quality Advisory categories (https://fortress.wa.gov/ecy/publications/publications/0802022.pdf). Sensitive populations are young children, older adults and people with breathing problems such as asthma. 

      The National Weather Service continues an air stagnation advisory for the eastern foothills of the Cascades and for the Clarkston area of Whitman County (http://forecast.weather.gov/wwamap/wwatxtget.php?cwa=otx&wwa=air%20stagnation%20advisory).

      The Wenatchee Complex Fire pushed air quality into the hazardous zone for the first time since the state began monitoring small particle pollution including smoke. The smoke hazard recorded at Wenatchee has been about three times higher than any other readings recorded by Washington state monitors since the 1980s.

      In 2006, a wildfire known as the Tripod Complex Fire burned for about two months in the Methow Valley, causing what was then the highest concentrations of small particle pollution ever measured in Washington.

      Follow air quality online at the Washington Department of Ecology wildfire/smoke Web page:  Go to Ecology’s home page at http://www.ecy.wa.gov/  and click on “Wildfire smoke updates” on the right side under “Spotlight.”  The direct link is:  http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/air/air_monitoring_data/WAQA_Intro_Page.html.

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Media Contacts:

Jani Gilbert, Communications, 509-329-3495; cell, 509-990-9177; jani.gilbert@ecy.wa.gov.

Ecology’s website: http://www.ecy.wa.gov

Ecology’s social media: http://www.ecy.wa.gov/about/newmedia.html

9/19/12 Health Information for Parents/Community Members

These documents contain information on how wildfire smoke affects children, both during and after the fires.

Information on Health Risks of Wildfires for Children: Acute Phase

http://aoec.org/pehsu/documents/wildfire_acute_2011_parents_comm.pdf

Information on Health Risks of Wildfires for Children – Aftermath

http://aoec.org/pehsu/documents/wildfire_aftermath_2011_parents_comm.pdf

Department of Ecology News Release - September 18, 2012
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Air quality in Ellensburg, Wenatchee remains unhealthy

YAKIMA – Air quality in Ellensburg has reached hazardous levels as a result of smoke from north and central Washington fires.
Wenatchee air quality has been hazardous since Sept. 12, according to data gathered by the Washington Department of Ecology.
All residents in both Wenatchee and Ellensburg should stay indoors and limit their physical activities. Doors and windows should remain closed.
Weak winds and stagnant conditions will continue in the eastern foothills of the Cascades, causing impaired air quality over the next several days. Exceptions are northern Okanogan County and Klickitat County.
Elsewhere in Eastern Washington, air quality remained mostly in the "good" category, though a few areas recorded "moderate" air quality.
The National Weather Service has an Air Stagnation Advisory in effect for the eastern foothills of the Cascades and the Lewis-Clark Valley.
Follow air quality online at the Washington Air Quality Advisory (WAQA): website.
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Media Contacts:
Joye Redfield-Wilder, Communications Manager, 509-575-2610; cell, 509-961-6277; joye.redfield-wilder@ecy.wa.gov
Jani Gilbert, Communications, 509-329-3495; cell, 509-990-9177; jani.gilbert@ecy.wa.gov.
For more information:
Air Stagnation Advisory in effect for the eastern foothills of the Cascades and the Lewis-Clark Valley (http://forecast.weather.gov/wwamap/wwatxtget.php?cwa=otx&wwa=air%20stagnation%20advisory)
Washington Air Quality Advisory (WAQA): website (https://fortress.wa.gov/ecy/enviwa/Default.ltr.aspx)
ECOconnect blog - Wildfire smoke updates (http://ecologywa.blogspot.com/search/label/Air%20Time)
Ecology’s social media (www.ecy.wa.gov/about/newmedia.html)