8-13-14 Air Quality Report

Smoke Synopsis:
Many fire areas received between one quarter and one inch of rain yesterday.  In general this has reduced fire activity and will allow firefighters to be more aggressive today including using burnouts to strengthen containment lines.  The increased humidity will cause more smoldering and this along with planned burnouts could maintain a notable level of smoke generation.  Cloudy skies and poor mixing this afternoon could lead to smoke staying relatively close to the ground and in the valleys.  Winds will continue to be quite light. Yesterday's rain and wind helped disperse some smoke but information on new fire starts is still trickling in and may not appear for a few days. Any new fires will affect the smoke forecast.  Smoke will accumulate, flush out and accumulate again in several areas through Saturday. Smoke from fires outside the state may occasionally impact cities close to state borders to varying extents.
Air Quality Outlook:
Site	Wednesday August 13, 2014	Thursday August 14, 2014	Friday August 15, 2014	Comments
Colville	USG	Moderate	Moderate
Wellpinit	Moderate	USG	Moderate
Keller	USG	Unhealthy	Unhealthy
Omak	Moderate	USG	Moderate
Malott	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate
Brewster	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate
Winthrop	USG	Moderate	Moderate
Twisp	USG	Moderate	Moderate
Chelan	Moderate	Moderate	Good
Entiat	USG	USG	USG
Plain	Good	Good	Good
Leavenworth	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate
Wenatchee	USG	Moderate	Moderate
Ellensburg	USG	USG	USG
Yakima	Good	Good	Good
NOTE – in table above “USG” stands for “Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups” For detailed information about the color coded air quality categories, please see:  Washington Air Quality Advisory for Smoke and Other Fine Particle Air Pollution En Español:  El Índice de la Calidad de Aire de Washington para Humo y Otra Contaminación del Aire causadas por Partículas Finas
Warning: These data have been obtained from automated instruments and have not been subjected to a quality assurance review to determine their accuracy. They are presented for public awareness and should not be considered final. Conditions such as power outages and equipment malfunctions can produce invalid data.
1 Since wildfires often occur in remote areas, air monitoring equipment may not be available. The following table provides a quick method to assess air quality in your area. For more detailed information you can go to the following site: http://www.deq.state.or.us/aq/burning/wildfires/visibility.htm

 

 

Kittitas County Press Release Public Health For Immediate Release Changing Weather Conditions Contribute to Air Quality Kittitas County, WA -08/13/2014 - At 7:00 am today, air quality is good, according to the Washington State Department of Ecology air quality monitoring site in Ellensburg. The range of air quality categories include good, moderate, unhealthy for sensitive groups, unhealthy, very unhealthy, and hazardous. Changing weather conditions and fire activity contribute to changing air quality.  Current air quality monitoring can be seen on the Washington State Department of Ecology air monitoring site: https://fortress.wa.gov/ecy/enviwa/.    Air quality closer to the active burn site may be poorer air quality than what the monitor in Ellensburg reflects.  Information about using visibility to estimate air quality is available at http://www.deq.state.or.us/aq/burning/wildfires/visibility.htm.   The Kittitas County Public Health Department (KCPHD) will continue to provide information regarding air quality status.  For more information or questions about air quality please contact the Kittitas County Public Health Department at (509) 962-7515. Read the full press release at http://www.co.kittitas.wa.us/uploads/news/press-releases/5540/Changing Weather Conditions Contribute to Air Quality.doc.pdf. Kittitas County, from the Cascades to the Columbia, and online at http://www.co.kittitas.wa.us ### For more information: Kasey Knutson, Public Information Officer, 509-962-7515

 

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8/12/2014 How to see 3 days of air quality warning values

Did you know anyone can access the charts that show 3 days of air quality values from the state monitoring network?

Here's how:
1. View the Washington Department of Ecology's monitoring site map here:  https://fortress.wa.gov/ecy/enviwa/Default.htm
2. Click on the colored dot that represents the monitor you're interested in (grey dots indicate the data is not available).
3. You'll see an image like the one below.  Click on "View Site Information" at the bottom of the pop-up box.

4. Next you'll see a screen that includes an image that looks a bit like a speedometer, click on the speedometer.

5. You'll get another image of the speedometer but you're almost there, click one last time on the speedometer.

6. And you're there!  Now you have a view of 3 days worth of air quality monitoring values converted into the WAQA health warning scale.  

-Note that some monitoring sites in Washington have instruments that monitor ozone and/or PM10 pollution. For smoke we focus on PM2.5.  (Notice that "PM2.5" is indicated somewhere on the images beginning with the speedometers.)   

-Also, the most current values shown on the chart use a mathematical calculation to predict the WAQA value so these values may change a bit as actual monitoring data is collected. 

8-12-14 Air Quality Report

Smoke Synopsis:
Stagnant conditions of recent days are a little less prominent today as a weather system off the Oregon coast was spinning moisture and greater instability across eastern Washington on Monday night and Tuesday.  The atmosphere will become very unstable Tuesday afternoon and night with the possibility for lightning, heavy showers, and gusty outflow winds from thunderstorms.  Wednesday will be slightly cooler with more cloud cover, but it will still be fairly warm and humid and another round of strong thunderstorms are possible Wednesday afternoon and night. Yesterday saw some of the worst air quality over the region in several weeks.  Smoke dispersion will improve a little today and Wednesday, but overall air quality improvement this week is expected to be gradual in most locations.  Smoke from fires outside the state may occasionally impact cities close to state borders, to varying extents. Western Washington mostly remained smoke free until plumes from eastern Washington drifted over the Cascades yesterday. Areas along the Puget Sound corridor might continue to see smoke over the next few days, mostly from local wildfires.
Air Quality Outlook:
Site	Tuesday August 12, 2014	Wednesday August 13, 2014	Thursday August 14, 2014	Comments
Colville	USG	USG	USG
Wellpinit	USG	USG	USG
Omak	Very Unhealthy	Very Unhealthy	Unhealthy
Malott	Unhealthy	Unhealthy	Unhealthy
Brewster	Unhealthy	Unhealthy	Unhealthy
Winthrop	Unhealthy	Unhealthy	Unhealthy
Twisp	Unhealthy	Unhealthy	Unhealthy
Chelan	Unhealthy	Unhealthy	Unhealthy
Entiat	Unhealthy	Unhealthy	Unhealthy
Plain	Unhealthy	Unhealthy	Unhealthy
Leavenworth	Unhealthy	Unhealthy	Unhealthy
Wenatchee	USG	USG	USG
Ellensburg	Unhealthy	Unhealthy	Unhealthy
Yakima	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate
NOTE – in table above “USG” stands for “Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups” For detailed information about the color coded air quality categories, please see:  Washington Air Quality Advisory for Smoke and Other Fine Particle Air Pollution En Español:  El Índice de la Calidad de Aire de Washington para Humo y Otra Contaminación del Aire causadas por Partículas Finas
Warning: These data have been obtained from automated instruments and have not been subjected to a quality assurance review to determine their accuracy. They are presented for public awareness and should not be considered final. Conditions such as power outages and equipment malfunctions can produce invalid data.
1 Since wildfires often occur in remote areas, air monitoring equipment may not be available. The following table provides a quick method to assess air quality in your area. For more detailed information you can go to the following site: http://www.deq.state.or.us/aq/burning/wildfires/visibility.htm