Yesterday,
burnout operations designed to protect the northern and western perimeters
continued, but acres burn was limited due to high humidity. Some of this smoke combined with smoke emitted
from interior burning descended and pooled in the valley causing elevated PM
concentrations Wednesday morning. The
Westfir and Oakridge, monitors recorded
high over night and early morning PM levels for a short period. By midafternoon
today, air quality improves to the good range.
The forecast is for a strong nighttime inversion this morning; thus,
smoke will return to low laying areas. Air
quality will start to improve tomorrow after the morning inversion breaks.
Today’s smoke will be transported to the
southeast by a northwest wind that is forecast for the entire day. A small
amount of burn out on the north and west side of the fire will continue today
to fill in portions of the fire perimeter. Warmer temperatures will help smoke
to loft, which will enhance the transport smoke to the south. We forecast the morning
air quality to reach “Unhealthy
for Sensitive groups” in Westfir as smoke vents down the
Deception Creek drainage, and “Moderate”
for Oakridge. Smoke should clear after
winds increase with inversion break .On Thursday, Cottage Grove may see more
smoke from the Deception wild fire as warm and dry conditions return and the
winds will blow from the east.
Air Quality Forecast for Wednesday (Particulate
Matter less than 2.5 µm in diameter)
|
Site
|
Wednesday Morning
Sep 10, 2014
|
Wednesday Afternoon
Sep 10, 2014
|
Wednesday Evening
Sep 10, 2014
|
|
Oakridge
|
Moderate
|
Good
|
Moderate
|
|
Westfir
|
Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups
|
Moderate
|
Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups
|
|
Dexter
|
Moderate
|
Good
|
Moderate
|
24-hour
Average PM 2.5 concentrations from Deception Complex
Wednesday
September 10, 2014
