The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 10 will continue a burn ban on all outdoor burning on the Yakama Reservation and the Warm Springs Reservation through till Monday, October 1st due to the impact of smoke from wild fires. This smoke has caused monitor readings to approach and at time exceed the unhealthy level for sensitive groups. Weather patterns and expectations for control of these wild fires would indicate that conditions will not improve significantly over the next several days. Therefore these burn bans will be in place through till Monday, October 1st when the situation will be re-evaluated.
These burn bans apply to all outdoor and agricultural burning, including camping and recreational fires within reservation boundaries. Ceremonial and traditional fires are exempt from the outdoor burn ban.
Also an Air Quality Burn Advisory will continue in effect for the Colville and the Spokane Reservations. EPA requests that residents and businesses on these reservations refrain from outdoor burning including agricultural, forestry, and recreational fires within reservation boundaries. This advisory will be reviewed on Thursday, October 1st..
EPA also requests that reservation residents reduce all sources of air pollution, including excess driving and idling of vehicles, and the use of woodstoves and fireplaces, unless it is your only source of heat.
Air pollution can have significant health impacts. Cooperation from the community will help people who are at risk during this period. Those most at risk are children, the elderly, pregnant women and those with difficulty breathing and with heart and lung problems. Those at risk should avoid outdoor exercise and minimize exposure to outdoor pollution as much as possible.
Please call 1-800-424-4EPA and ask for the FARR Hotline or visit the Federal Air Rules for Reservations (FARR) website for the current burn status at www.epa.gov/r10earth/FARR.htm.
Thursday, September 27, 2012
9-27-2012 1145 Thursday's Ecology conditions update and forecast
Washington Department of Ecology news
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – Sept. 27, 2012
12-326
Air quality worsens again in Wenatchee, Cashmere
OLYMPA – Wildfire smoke has poured back into the Wenatchee and Cashmere areas, plunging air quality there back into the “hazardous” category, according to the Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology).
Both communities have been hammered by smoke carried by winds from area wildfires. Some afternoon clearing occurs when the inversion breaks and upvalley winds kick in. On Wednesday (Sept. 26), Entiat and Pateros showed air quality as “unhealthy for sensitive groups,” while air was “unhealthy” in Leavenworth. Twisp, Winthrop and Cle Elum (all “moderate”) showed the opposite trend, with increasing fine particle pollution levels recorded when winds during the day pushed smoke toward air quality monitors.
Monitors showed air quality was “unhealthy” in Trout Lake and Ellensburg, “unhealthy for sensitive groups” in Yakima and Toppenish, and “moderate” in White Swan and Goldendale. All of those communities saw an increase in fine particle pollution when the inversion broke. But they experienced some partial clearing later on Wednesday.
Omak and Quincy air monitors are reading “good,” but fine particle monitors elsewhere east of the Cascades are reporting compromised air quality today (Thursday, Sept. 27). Columbia Basin monitoring sites show little change since Wednesday, with a mixture of “moderate” air to “unhealthy for sensitive groups.”
Light east winds have started in Eastern Washington and could still bring some smoke from Idaho wildfires to the Palouse before Friday night. With strong nighttime inversions, above normal daytime temperatures and light winds, the largest smoke impacts are expected near the fires while the Columbia Basin will continue to experience a steady state in which as much smoke enters as leaves.
In general, expect some smoke impacts in the morning and nighttime, with some afternoon clearing in most places. The light east winds could push some smoke farther up the Cascade foothills during the day.
Winds are expected to pick up on Friday evening; models suggest that gradual clearing in most areas is expected to continue through Saturday evening before calm conditions return.
The National Weather Service issued an Air Quality Alert for all of Eastern Washington: http://forecast.weather.gov/wwamap/wwatxtget.php?cwa=otx&wwa=air%20quality%20alert
Gov. Chris Gregoire has banned all outdoor burning in Eastern Washington through midnight Sunday. The ban does not apply to tribal lands where the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has jurisdiction.
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Media Contact: Seth Preston, Ecology communications manager, 360-407-6848; 360-584-5744 cell; seth.preston@ecy.wa.gov
More information:
Ecology’s website: http://www.ecy.wa.gov
9/27/12 Air Quality Monitoring to Begin in Liberty, WA
Back burns planned for the Table Mountain fire in the next day or two may cause smoke accumulations in the area of Liberty, WA and some surrounding small communities. To quickly respond to this situation, the Forest Service temporary monitor currently in Cle Elum will be moved to Liberty today (9/27). A new monitor to replace the one in Cle Elum has been ordered and should be in operation late in the afternoon tomorrow (9/28). So later today the Cle Elum monitor (Smoke 66) will drop off and then reappear a few hours later at its new location in Liberty.
Monitoring values recorded by Forest Service temporary monitors can be accessed here: http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/cgi-bin/smoke.pl Note that the values you see are 1 hour averages of particulate concentration recorded in UTC time (subtract 7 hours to get Pacific Daylight Time). Department of Ecology has provided a rough conversion of 1-hour averages to WAQA health categories in the document accessed on this page called. “Interim Guidance for Wildfire Smoke and WAQA”.
The Table Mountain News Release for today is here: http://www.inciweb.org/incident/article/3269/17895/
9/27/12 Wildfire Smoke Forecast 0800 PDT
9-27-12 Air Monitor Update 0800 PDT
| Central Region, Ecology Air Quality Report Chelan County monitor locations: Wenatchee- “Hazardous” Leavenworth- “Unhealthy” Chelan- “Moderate” Okanogan County monitor locations: Omak - “Good” Winthrop – “Moderate” Twisp- “Moderate” Kittitas County monitor location: Ellensburg- “Unhealthy” Yakima County monitor locations: Yakima- “Unhealthy for sensitive groups” White Swan- “Moderate” Toppenish- “Unhealthy for sensitive groups” Klickitat County monitor location: Goldendale- “Moderate”
Eastern Region, Ecology Air Quality Report Blue Mt. Area Northeast | Central Washington Air Quality Report from Forest Service Temporary Monitor locations Chelan County monitor location: Wenatchee(Confluence Park)- “Very Unhealthy” Cashmere- “Hazardous” Entiat- “Unhealthy for sensitive groups” Okanogan County* (new) Pateros- “Unhealthy for sensitive groups” Grant County monitor location: Quincy- “Good” Kittitas County monitor location: Cle Elum- “Unhealthy for sensitive groups” Klickitat County*(new) Trout Lake- “Unhealthy”
Eastern cont., Ecology Air Quality Report Columbia Basin Spokane Area |
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 Sunday, September, 30, 2012.
9/27/12 Wildfire Smoke Forecast 0800 PDT
Air Quality forecast, 8AM Thursday 27 September 2012
Issued by Ranil Dhammapala, Washington State Dept. of Ecology
Wenatchee is back to recording Hazardous air this morning, as is Cashmere. Both these sites have been getting hammered by smoke in down slope winds with some afternoon clearing when the inversion breaks and upvalley winds kick in. Entiat and Pateros (both Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups) also showed the same behavior yesterday. Leavenworth (Unhealthy), Twisp, Winthrop and Cle Elum (all Moderate) showed the opposite trend, increasing when upvalley winds during the day pushed smoke toward the monitors. Trout Lake and Ellensburg (both Unhealthy), Yakima, Toppenish (both Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups), White Swan and Goldendale (both Moderate) all saw an increase in PM2.5 levels when the inversion broke, but experienced some partial clearing later.
With the exception of Omak and Quincy, none of the other PM2.5 monitors east of the Cascades are recording Good air this morning (the two green dots on the map close to Spokane are CO and Ozone monitors). Little diurnal change in the Columbia Basin sites since yesterday, with a mixture of Moderate air to Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups. Some sites showed a very slight drop during the afternoon mixing, but a slight increase overall. Over the last two days, the Columbia Basin has behaved like a giant bathtub in steady state, where the water (smoke) entering is almost balanced by the amount leaving.
Light east winds have started in eastern WA and could still bring a little ID wildfire smoke to the Palouse area before Friday night. With strong nighttime inversions, above normal daytime temperatures and light winds, the largest smoke impacts are expected near the fires while the Basin will continue to behave like a bathtub in near-steady state. In general, expect some smoke impacts in the morning and nighttime, with some afternoon clearing in most places. The light east winds could push some smoke further up the foothills during the day.
Winds are expected to pick up a notch on Friday evening, and models suggest that gradual clearing in most areas is expected to continue through Saturday evening before calm, benign conditions return.
The National Weather Service issued an Air Quality Alert for all of eastern Washington:
http://forecast.weather.gov/wwamap/wwatxtget.php?cwa=otx&wwa=air%20quality%20alert
The Governor has extended a burn ban on all outdoor burning in eastern Washington through midnight Sunday.
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 grey
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
9/24/12 Red Cross evacuation shelter also open to people seeking better air quality
Red Cross evacuation shelter also open to people seeking better air quality
The Kittitas County Public Health Department is partnering with Kittitas County Red Cross to offer a shelter for people seeking better air to breathe. The fire evacuation shelter at the Mercer Creek Church, 1407 N. B Street in Ellensburg, is being opened up to people who are seeking a place with better air quality than their homes. For people who cannot temporarily re-locate to other areas with better air quality, or for people whose homes do not have indoor air circulation, the shelter may provide some relief from the smoky air. Staying indoors or relocating to a place with better air quality is the best form of protection for everyone in the current air quality conditions.
The air quality level in Ellensburg today has been in the “unhealthy” to “very unhealthy” range. Cle Elum saw “unhealthy” air early this morning however it improved to “moderate” later in the morning. The range of air quality categories include good, moderate, unhealthy for sensitive groups, unhealthy, very unhealthy, and hazardous. During conditions of unhealthy to hazardous air quality, the Kittitas County Public Health Department encourages everyone living in Kittitas County (and neighboring areas affected by smoke) to:
- Limit outdoor activity, staying indoors if possible,
- Avoid outdoor physical activity,
- Keep doors and windows closed in buildings and cars,
- Set air conditioning to “recycle” or “recirculate,”
- Consider spending time or re-locating temporarily to a location with better air quality if you are experiencing negative symptoms related to the air quality. Adverse symptoms may include dizziness, headache, difficulty breathing, coughing, excessive phlegm, and nausea. Please contact your health care provider if you experience any of these symptoms.
This recommendation applies to everyone when the air quality is in the unhealthy, very unhealthy, or hazardous range, but it is especially important for sensitive groups which include:
- People with pre-existing lung or heart conditions such as asthma or emphysema, diabetes, or other respiratory infections;
- People who have had a stroke;
- Infants, children, and adults older than 65; and
- Pregnant women.
Sensitive groups should also follow the above recommendations when the air quality is in the “unhealthy for sensitive groups” range.
N-95 or P-100 masks can provide limited protection from the small particulate matter found in wildfire smoke if worn and fitted properly. Bandanas (wet or dry), paper or surgical masks, or tissues held over the mouth and nose will not protect your lungs from wildfire smoke. Individuals with heart or lung conditions should consult with their health care provider before using a mask. Masks are not designed to fit children properly and should not be used for children as they will not provide adequate protection. Children should be kept indoors.
The Kittitas County Public Health Department and the Central Washington University Student Medical and Counseling Clinic have N-95 masks available to adults who are considered to be in the sensitive groups definition. Kittitas Valley Community Hospital has masks available for people who have a prescription from their health care provider.
Updated Resources on Local Air Quality and Health:
- Washington State Department of Ecology air monitoring site https://fortress.wa.gov/ecy/enviwa/.
- Washington Air Quality Advisory (WAQA) Chart https://fortress.wa.gov/ecy/enviwa/App_AQI/AQI.en-US.pdf
- Washington State Department of Health frequently asked questions about wildfire smoke http://www.doh.wa.gov/CommunityandEnvironment/AirQuality/OutdoorAir/SmokeFromFires/FrequentlyaskedQuestionsaboutWildfireSmoke.aspx
- Washington Smoke Information blog http://wasmoke.blogspot.com/
Date: September 24, 2012
Contact: Robin Read, Public Information Officer, 509-962-7515
###
Notice: All email sent to this address will be received by the Kittitas County
email system and may be subject to public disclosure under Chapter 42.56
RCW and to archiving and review.
message id: 38eb45916c6dcbdac24bb8719d004a14
9/26/12 0900 Clean Air Shelter Open
A Clean Air Shelter Is Open in Waterville
People with underlying health conditions, who are in need of clean air to breathe, will find good air at the newly opened Douglas County Fairgrounds Shelter. A clean air shelter is open at the Douglas County Fairgrounds in Waterville. This shelter is for people who do not have the resources to leave the area, and/or have no place they can go outside of our area.
Examples of people that might come to this shelter include:
· People who have been told by their doctor to leave until conditions improve, but who have nowhere to go, or no way to get there, can use this shelter site.
· People who are in a high risk group for complications from the smoke, those with heart or lung conditions, who haven’t got the ability to leave here because of a lack of resources, can use this site.
The Waterville area has better air quality in general than surrounding communities. The Douglas County Fairground has the space to accommodate all who may need to use it during the continuing poor air quality period from local fires.
Please note that Link transit serves the Waterville area and they have added a stop at the Fairgrounds to their route.
For more information about the clean air shelter you can call 509 886-6476.
9/26/12 ECOLOGY NEWS RELEASE: Smoke creeping back in after day of respite
Washington Department of Ecology news
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – Sept. 26, 2012
12-324
Smoke creeping back in after day of respite
YAKIMA – Wenatchee and Cashmere enjoyed relatively clean air for about half a day before smoke from the area wildfires returned Tuesday evening, according to the Washington Department of Ecology. Smoke is also lingering elsewhere in Eastern Washington.
Wednesday morning, Cashmere is recording hazardous air quality levels, while Wenatchee crept into the unhealthy range. Air quality in Entiat, Pateros and Trout Lake, near Mount Adams, is unhealthy for sensitive groups. It is of moderate concern in Chelan and Ellensburg.
Other monitors along the east slopes of the Cascades are recording good air. The Columbia Basin has a mixture of air quality conditions. In some areas, the air is troublesome for children and those with respiratory ailments or the elderly. In other areas, air quality is good to moderate, with many sites showing little fluctuation since Tuesday.
The forecast predicting strong nighttime inversions remains on track, with above normal daytime temperatures and light winds. The greatest smoke accumulations will be near the fires while other areas in Eastern Washington will experience lingering smoke.
Light east winds will return Thursday and it may bring some smoke from Idaho wildfires to the Palouse, Clarkston and Spokane. In general, expect some smoke impacts in the morning and nighttime, with some afternoon clearing in most of Eastern Washington.
On Friday night, a weakening front will bring some clouds and winds, helping to disperse smoke somewhat. Stagnant conditions could return over the weekend due to a strong ridge of high pressure. There is the possibility that east winds will bring smoke from Idaho fires to the far eastern parts of the state, and some Washington wildfire smoke to the western part of the state.
Gov. Chris Gregoire has extended a burn ban on all outdoor burning in eastern Washington through midnight Sunday. You can find news and information about smoke and wildfires from a variety of state, local and federal agencies on a new blog, http://wasmoke.blogspot.com/.
The National Weather Service issued an Air Quality Alert for all of Eastern Washington: http://forecast.weather.gov/wwamap/wwatxtget.php?cwa=otx&wwa=air%20quality%20alert
###
Media Contact: Joye Redfield-Wilder, Communications Manager, 509-575-2610; joye.redfield-wilder@ecy.wa.gov
More information:
· Check for air quality monitoring information: http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/air/air_monitoring_data/WAQA_Intro_Page.html
Ecology’s website: http://www.ecy.wa.gov
###
Broadcast version
Wenatchee and Cashmere enjoyed relatively clean air for about half a day before smoke from the area wildfires returned Tuesday evening. A building ridge will cause a return to stagnant conditions through Friday.
Wednesday morning, Cashmere is recording hazardous air quality levels, while Wenatchee crept into the unhealthy range. Air quality in Entiat, Pateros and Trout Lake, near Mount Adams, is unhealthy for sensitive groups, and of moderate concern in Chelan and Ellensburg.
Strong nighttime inversions and light winds will ensure smoke hangs around over the next few days, though some partial clearing is expected most afternoons. A weak front will help dispersion on Friday night.
9/26/12 Wildfire Smoke Forecast 0800 PDT
9-26-12 Air Monitor Update 0800 PDT
| Central Region, Ecology Air Quality Report Chelan County monitor locations: Wenatchee- “Unhealthy” Leavenworth- “Good” Chelan- “Moderate” Okanogan County monitor locations: Omak - “Good” Winthrop – “Good” Twisp- “Good” Kittitas County monitor location: Ellensburg- “Moderate” Yakima County monitor location: Yakima- “Good” White Swan- “Good” Toppenish- “Good” Klickitat County monitor location: Goldendale- “Good”
Eastern Region, Ecology Air Quality Report Blue Mt. Area Northeast | USDA FOREST SERVICE Air Quality Report Chelan County monitor location: Wenatchee- (Confluence Park)- “Unhealthy” Cashmere- “Hazardous” Entiat- “Unhealthy for sensitive groups” Okanogan County* (new) Pateros- “Unhealthy for sensitive groups” Grant County monitor location: Quincy- Good“” Kittitas County monitor location: Cle Elum- “Good” Klickitat County*(new) Trout Lake- “Unhealthy for sensitive groups”
Eastern cont., Ecology Air Quality Report Columbia Basin Spokane Area |
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 Sunday, September, 30, 2012.
9/26/12 Wildfire Smoke Forecast 0800 PDT
Air Quality forecast, 8AM Wednesday 26 September 2012
Issued by Ranil Dhammapala, Washington State Dept. of Ecology
Wenatchee enjoyed relatively clean air for about half a day before smoke impacts returned last evening. Cashmere enjoyed clean air for a little longer than that, but spread over two installments. Presently Cashmere is recording Hazardous air, while air in Wenatchee is Unhealthy. Entiat, Pateros and Trout Lake are recording Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups, Chelan and Ellensburg are recording Moderate air, while other monitors along the east slopes of the Cascades are recording Good air. The Columbia Basin has a mixture of Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups, Moderate and Good areas, with many sites showing little fluctuation since yesterday.
Yesterday's forecast is still pretty much on track, with strong nighttime inversions, above normal daytime temperatures and light winds (mostly terrain-driven). Largest smoke impacts are expected near the fires while most other areas in eastern WA get impacted by smoke sloshing around. Light east winds return on Thursday and it is possible that these may bring some smoke from Idaho wildfires to the Palouse, Clarkston and Spokane. In general, expect some smoke impacts in the morning and nighttime, with some afternoon clearing in most places.
A weakening front is expected to do no more than increase clouds and winds on Friday night, but at least this will help with smoke dispersion. Strong ridging is expected over the weekend, implying a return to stagnant conditions and even the possibility of east winds bringing ID wildfire smoke to the far eastern parts of the state and a little WA wildfire smoke to western WA. This bears watching.
The National Weather Service issued an Air Quality Alert for all of eastern Washington:
http://forecast.weather.gov/wwamap/wwatxtget.php?cwa=otx&wwa=air%20quality%20alert
The Governor has extended a burn ban on all outdoor burning in eastern Washington through midnight Sunday.
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 grey
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
9/25/12 Air quality improves for some short-lived relief
Washington Department of Ecology news
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – Sept. 25, 2012
12-323
Air quality improves for some short-lived relief
YAKIMA – For the first time in nearly two weeks, none of the air quality monitors in the state are recording hazardous conditions. Pateros comes precariously close, though, with air quality there degraded today while other nearby sites showed improvement in response to a passing front.
Meteorological data in the area show winds picking up, but the sheltered location of Pateros probably resulted in smoke pooling in the area.
Trout Lake, Winthrop, Omak, Chelan and Entiat remain unhealthy, while Wenatchee, Cashmere, Twisp, White Swan and Toppenish, registering unhealthy for sensitive groups, are clearing out quite well.
Ellensburg, Cle Elum, Quincy, Leavenworth and Yakima all have good air. Sites around the Columbia Basin vary from good to unhealthy for sensitive groups.
A front passing through Eastern Washington right now should help keep smoke levels in check through this evening, according to Ecology meteorologist Ranil Dhammapala.
“Sadly this improvement is short lived: a building ridge will cause a return to stagnant conditions through Friday,” Dhammapala said. “Strong nighttime inversions and light winds will ensure smoke sloshes around and causes the kind of impacts we have been living with over the last two weeks.”
Mild east winds return on Thursday and it is possible that these may bring some smoke from Idaho wildfires to the Palouse/ Clarkston areas. In general, expect some smoke impacts in the morning and nighttime, with some afternoon clearing in most places.
There is no significant precipitation in the five-day forecast. Slight increases in wind speeds on Friday should help with dispersion in Eastern Washington.
A few areas in the south Puget Sound, Southwest Washington and the Olympic Peninsula might have smelled a whiff of smoke yesterday morning as the inversion broke, but not enough to degrade air quality much. Wildfire smoke is not expected to push west of the Cascades, but with light winds over the next few days, expect a slight buildup of locally and regionally generated pollutants.
The Governor has extended a burn ban on all outdoor burning in eastern Washington through midnight Sunday.
You can find news and information about smoke and wildfires from a variety of state, local and federal agencies on a new blog, http://wasmoke.blogspot.com/.
The National Weather Service issued an Air Quality Alert for all of eastern Washington: http://forecast.weather.gov/wwamap/wwatxtget.php?cwa=otx&wwa=air%20quality%20alert
###
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
###
Broadcast version
After nearly two weeks many communities in Central Washington are experiencing some relief from area wildfire smoke.
No air quality monitors in the state are registering in the hazardous zone. But the reprieve may be short lived, the Department of Ecology says.
A building ridge will cause a return to stagnant conditions through Friday.
Strong nighttime inversions and light winds will ensure smoke sloshes around, causing the kind of impacts we have been living with over the last two weeks.
9/25/12 Wildfire Smoke Forecast 0800 PDT
Air Monitor Update 0800 PDT
| Central Region, Ecology Air Quality Report Chelan County monitor locations: Wenatchee- “Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups” Leavenworth- “Good” Chelan- “Unhealthy” Okanogan County monitor locations: Omak - “Unhealthy” Winthrop – “Unhealthy” Twisp- “Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups” Kittitas County monitor location: Ellensburg- “Good” Yakima County monitor location: Yakima- “Good” White Swan- “Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups” Toppenish- “Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups” Klickitat County monitor location: Goldendale- “Good”
Eastern Region, Ecology Air Quality Report Blue Mt. Area Northeast | USDA FOREST SERVICE Air Quality Report Chelan County monitor location: Wenatchee- (Confluence Park)- “moderate” Cashmere- “Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups” Entiat- “Unhealthy” Okanogan County* (new) Pateros- “Very Unhealthy” Grant County monitor location: Quincy- Good“” Kittitas County monitor location: Cle Elum- “Good” Klickitat County*(new) Trout Lake- “Unhealthy”
Eastern cont., Ecology Air Quality Report Columbia Basin Spokane Area |
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 Sunday, September, 30, 2012.
Information Clearing House for Wildfire Information Updates: http://wasmoke.blogspot.com/
9/25/12 Wildfire Smoke Forecast 0800 PDT
Air Quality forecast, 8AM Tuesday 25 September 2012
Issued by Ranil Dhammapala, Washington State Dept. of Ecology
For the first time in nearly two weeks, none of the monitors in the state are recording Hazardous conditions. Pateros comes precariously close though- air quality there degraded somewhat yesterday and today while other nearby sites show an improvement in response to the passing front. Meteorological data in the area show winds picking up, but the sheltered location of Pateros probably resulted in smoke pooling in the area. Trout Lake, Winthrop, Omak, Chelan and Entiat remain Unhealthy, while Wenatchee, Cashmere, Twisp, White Swan and Toppenish (Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups) are clearing out quite well. Ellensburg, Cle Elum, Quincy, Leavenworth and Yakima all have Good air. Sites around the Columbia Basin vary from Good to Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups.
A front passing through eastern WA right now should help keep smoke levels in check through this evening. But sadly this improvement is short lived: a building ridge will cause a return to stagnant conditions through Friday. Strong nighttime inversions and light winds will ensure smoke sloshes around and causes the kind of impacts we have been living with over the last 2 weeks. Mild east winds return on Thursday and it is possible that these may bring some smoke from Idaho wildfires to the Palouse/ Clarkston areas. In general, expect some smoke impacts in the morning and nighttime, with some afternoon clearing in most places.
No significant precipitation in the 5-day forecast. Slight increases in wind speeds on Friday should help with dispersion in eastern WA.
A few areas in the south Puget Sound, SW Washington and the Olympic Peninsula might have smelled a whiff of smoke last morning as the inversion broke, but not enough to degrade air quality much. Wildfire smoke is not expected to push west of the Cascades, but with light winds over the next few days, expect a slight buildup of locally and regionally generated pollutants.
The National Weather Service issued an Air Quality Alert for all of eastern Washington:
http://forecast.weather.gov/wwamap/wwatxtget.php?cwa=otx&wwa=air%20quality%20alert
The Governor has extended a burn ban on all outdoor burning in eastern Washington through midnight Sunday.
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 grey
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