8/28/2015 Air Quality and Smoke Report for SE Washington

An Air Resource Adviser assigned to the fires near Baker City, OR is including parts of Washington (Walla Walla and Clarkston) in his daily air quality/smoke forecasts.  See his report for today at this link: http://oregonsmoke.blogspot.com/2015/08/82815-air-quality-report-for-ne-oregon.html

Wildfire smoke forecast through Monday 31 August

Smoke forecasts for north central and northeast Washington are covered in the two posts below. This post covers the remaining areas of the state.

Some clearing occurred Thursday evening. Here is the satellite picture taken last afternoon.

Smoke returned overnight. Most areas however are showing Moderate or USG air now. Goldendale temporary monitor reporting Good air overnight. Southwest winds will slowly pick up across the Columbia Basin and air quality will improve at most sites today. Expecting mostly Good air later today, although the Lewis- Clark valley might be harder to clear out and might stay Moderate.

Winds briefly turn easterly overnight as low pressure approaches from the coast. Some models emphasize this more than others. If this does materialize, it will drag some Idahoan smoke over far eastern Washington and also result in some smoke making a run for the western foothills of the Cascades, if not into Western Washington overnight. However any smoke on the west side will be short lived, as strong southwest winds kick up on Saturday morning, bring rain to western WA and the Cascades. 

Saturday should see mostly Good air quality in these areas. However please pay attention to the Red Flag warnings and Blowing Dust advisories in eastern Washington.

Winds will remain strong enough to maintain mostly Good air on Saturday night into Sunday. It is not impossible for some Oregon wildfire smoke to make its way over parts of the Columbia Basin on Sunday, but it is unlikely to degrade air quality very much.

Expect mostly Good air on Sunday, though Moderate air cannot be ruled out. Better air in the afternoon, slightly worse overnight.

Nevertheless the Air Quality Alert remains in effect because smoke clearing will not be sustained through the entire weekend.

Air Quality Forecast - Chelan Lake & Methow Valley Fires Friday, August 28, 2015

Air Quality Forecast - Chelan Lake & Methow Valley Fires       Friday, August 28, 2015

Prepared by: Carolyn Kelly, Air Resource Advisor Trainee (ckelly8384@gmail.com) 

                                    Andrea Holland, Air Resource Advisor (andreahollandsears@gmail.com) 

Friday: Yesterday’s winds cleared out the smoke in local communities. Those communities nearest to the fires may see smoke drift into the valleys beginning mid-afternoon. Saturday: Gusty winds will bring some relief from smoke for affected communities. Sunday: Weather pattern will remain cool and breezy with occasional light showers.
Site	August 28 Air quality – Friday	August 29 Air Quality – Saturday	August 30 Air Quality – Sunday	Comments
Chelan	Good	Good	Good	Depending on the rain and wind that comes through today, air quality may improve beyond the predicted level.
	USG
Manson	USG	Moderate	Good
	Unhealthy
Winthrop	USG	USG	Good
Twisp	Unhealthy	Unhealthy	Good
Leavenworth	Good	Good	Good
Wenatchee	Good	Good	Good
Brewster	Unhealthy	USG	Good
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.

Webcam looking up Lake Chelan  http://www.fsvisimages.com/fstemplate.aspx?site=okwe3_fire1

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

Air Quality Summary Report - NE Washington Area Command Fires Friday, August 28, 2015

Download the PDF here

August 27, 2015 Monitoring data, post-wind event

August 27 Evening Update: As predicted, winds picked up this afternoon, and cleared the air at many of the sites we are tracking for NE Washington, in many cases (Inchelium, Omak, Republic, and Nespelem) going from Hazardous/Very Unhealthy levels to Moderate levels in just a few hours.

Link to latest at this set of sites here (click Generate plots to see detailed graphs)

This respite may be brief as the smoke from continuing activity on nearby fires fills back in under light winds tonight and tomorrow. There was notable activity (a large plume) on the Carpenter fire this evening, and that smoke is aloft above Wellpinit and nearby areas:

Here's the 06:16 AM VIIRS image from the next morning:

Comparison of the Last 6 Years of Smoke from Wildfires

The State Department of Ecology has put together the graph above showing that some communities are seeing greater effects from smoke than previous years. Many of the communities closest to the larger and longer burning wildfires are seeing more days this year that are in the very unhealthy and even hazardous ranges.

8/27/2015 Air Quality Forecast for SE Washington

An Air Resource Adviser assigned to the fires near Baker City, OR is including parts of Washington (Walla Walla and Clarkston) in his daily air quality/smoke forecasts.  See his report for today at this link: http://oregonsmoke.blogspot.com/2015/08/82715-air-quality-report-for-ne-oregon.html

Air Quality Summary Report - NE Washington Area Command Fires Wednesday, August 27, 2015

Downoad the PDF file here

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.

Webcam looking up Lake Chelan  http://www.fsvisimages.com/fstemplate.aspx?site=okwe3_fire1

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

August 26, 2015 -- Elevated smoke production this afternoon from fires to the SW

Flow was more southerly today though and allowed some impressive fire activity on the Cougar Creek fire send another plume toward areas to the north and west of Spokane.

Visible satellite loop from the afternoon. The Cougar Creek plume is just below the center of this view.

Below is a close-up of the Cougar Creek Fire, with VIIRS fire activity overlaid.