Photo courtesy of fireweatheravalanche.org
Well we have been breathing wildfire smoke for several weeks and it looks to stick around for a few weeks longer. But where exactly is all this smoke coming from? In Montana, fire personnel are fighting 40 fires. In the pacific northwest and California, several hundred fires are burning. As you can see from the picture above, this is creating a huge, and I mean huge, region full of smoke. Air quality conditions have ranged from Moderate to over Hazardous, depending on the location and weather conditions at the time.
Seeley Lake, MT air conditions recently were so bad that there was no designation for it. Authorities recommended everyone leave the area because it was so bad.
Unfortunately, it is that time of the year, so if you do need to be outside, health officials recommend to not exert yourself anymore than you need to and if you have respiratory or health issues, they recommend you stay inside.
Don’t forget your pets. Dogs and cats can suffer from the same allergies and symptoms that humans do when conditions become extremely smokey.
If you are outside anywhere, please exercise caution and be careful. As dry as vegetation is at this time, it doesn’t take much to start a fire that can quickly grow.
Current Montana fire information can be found at https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/state/27/.
National fire maps can be found at www.fireweatheravalanche.org.