Choking smoke might clear out on Saturday

Choking smoke in Western Montana valleys is poised to stay until this weekend, meteorologists say, until a new weather front can move in and mix things up.

Travis Booth, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Missoula, said things weren’t looking great for outdoors enthusiasts.

“I’m afraid there’s no great news to pass along,” he said Wednesday. “For a couple of days at least there is not a lot of mixing in the valleys.”

The good news, Booth said, was that a weather system projected to move in on Saturday has the potential to blow some of the wildfire smoke away.

In terms of health, Wednesday saw a massive spike in air pollution, reaching heights of 282 micrograms of particulate per cubic meter of ambient air at 1 p.m. in the Flathead Valley.

The dire numbers declined by 3 p.m. to just 92 micrograms per cubic meter.

Joe Russell, Flathead City-County public health officer, said the variations can depend on where the readings are taken.

“The readings we see are actually taken in Columbia Falls,” he said. “We see different rates in Kalispell and Whitefish. Whitefish has actually had the least impact. It might be because of the way they sit in the valley.”

While the readings can be helpful for those numerically inclined, Russell said a more accurate way of reading is using a visual test.

“Because I can’t reach the whole valley instantaneously and you can’t always rely on hour-old information, I encourage people to use the visual gauge,” Russell said. “If you can’t see a landmark that is 1.3 miles away, you’re in hazardous conditions. At 2.1 miles away you’re in very unhealthy conditions.”

A full visual guide can be located on www.FlatheadHealth.org.

Because of confusion over what constitutes hazardous air, school administrators are asking Russell if school should be in session.

“Honestly they shouldn’t cancel school. Kids should be in school where they have less opportunity to get exposed to the unhealthy air,” he said. “I don’t know if I’ve ever seen ratings as high during the noon hour as we are seeing lately.”

Flathead Valley air still registers as very unhealthy to unhealthy, levels at which most people avoid unnecessary outdoors exertion.

Reporter Ryan Murray may be reached at 758-4436 or by email at rmurray@dailyinterlake.com.