This morning's air quality update from Missoula City-County Air Quality Specialist Sarah Coefield:
"Good morning. Depending on where you are, you either woke up to nice air or chewable air.
Conditions at our monitor in Missoula (located at Boyd Park, near the fairgrounds) were Moderate this morning, but if you look south you can see an immense swath of smoke from the Lolo Peak Fire sliding into Missoula. It’s following the Bitterroot River, and folks living near the river saw thick smoke hanging just overhead this morning. When the inversion breaks, they will be the first to notice. The smoke that’s currently hugging the mountains south and west of Missoula will mix down and air quality will plummet. We are likely to see some of that smoke make its way to the more central part of Missoula later this morning. Conditions in Missoula may become Unhealthy.
When air quality is Unhealthy, people with heart or lung disease, smokers, children and the elderly should limit heavy or prolonged exertion and limit time spent outdoors. People with asthma should follow their asthma management plan. People experiencing symptoms of heart or lung disease associated with smoke exposure should contact their health care provider.
Wildfire smoke doesn’t behave like our winter air pollution. While winter air pollution is generally evenly distributed, wildfire smoke can be confined to just one part of the valley and miss our monitor entirely. This is why it’s important to use situational awareness during a wildfire season. Pay attention to the air in your surroundings and know that it’s very possible the smoke at our monitor is not representative of what you’re experiencing. If you can’t see for 5 miles, the air quality is Unhealthy.
The Lolo Peak Fire is most significantly impacting Florence and Lolo. Air quality is Very Unhealthy in Florence. Air quality was Hazardous in Lolo this morning, and is trending toward Very Unhealthy. The Lolo Peak smoke is trapped under an inversion, and it may take some time for it to break out. Conditions should improve once the smoke lifts, but first the sun needs to get high enough to reach the valley floor through the thick smoke. Thanks to the building high pressure and relatively strong inversion in the Bitterroot Valley, the smoke may be trapped for a few more hours this morning.
When air quality is Very Unhealthy, people with heart or lung disease, smokers, children and the elderly should avoid heavy or prolonged exertion and stay indoors when possible, people with asthma should follow asthma management plan. People experiencing symptoms of heart or lung disease associated with smoke exposure should contact their health care provider. Everyone else should limit prolonged exertion and limit time spent outdoors.
When air quality is Hazardous, all people should limit or avoid outdoor exertion and leave the area or stay indoors with filtered air when possible. Anyone experiencing symptoms of heart of lung disease associated with smoke exposure should contact their health care provider.
The Liberty Fire was actively burning last night, and it is sending smoke toward the Potomac Valley. Conditions there may be Unhealthy.
The Rice Ridge Fire continues to pour smoke into Seeley Lake every night, and air quality is once again Hazardous in the Seeley Lake valley. It’s not a competition, but the smoke in Seeley Lake is technically twice as bad as the smoke in Lolo this morning, and has been for 16 of the past 21 days. The latest 1-hour PM2.5 concentration in Seeley lake is 645.7 ug/m3. Lolo topped out at 331 ug/m3 at 6 a.m. this morning. The smoke in Lolo is horrible. The smoke in Seeley Lake is worse. The Health Department has recommended Seeley Lake residents get out of the smoke if they are able to. You can find the official recommendation and some helpful resources online.
Conditions in the Swan Valley are currently Moderate, but they are likely to see some Rice Ridge smoke later this morning when the inversion breaks. Air quality in the Holland Lake area may become Unhealthy, but it should improve by the afternoon.
Air quality is currently Moderate in Frenchtown and Alberton, but we may see deteriorating conditions later this morning when overhead smoke from the Sunrise Fire mixes down. Smoke from the Lolo Peak Fire may also follow the river all the way to Frenchtown.
We are entering a period of atmospheric stability, which means the smoke isn’t going to go very far today. There will be widespread smoke impacts later this morning when locally generated smoke mixes down. We are looking at pretty warm temperatures today, so there may be some nice convection to lift the smoke out of our breathing space this afternoon, but I’m not expecting especially dramatic smoke clearing. There will likely still be significant haze even during the warmest part of the day, and there may be localized Unhealthy smoke impacts around the county."
