Smoke in Alaska
Incident: Railbelt Complex Wildfire
Released: 7/19/2009
The State of Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation and other entities have the ability to monitor air particulate levels. Particulates are solid particles produced by things like vehicle emissions, agricultural activities, and wildland fires. Additional smoke and weather monitoring modules can be set up and activated when smoke is likely to affect populated areas. A smoke monitoring module records levels every hour and then computes a 24-hour average which correlates to the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) established by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). During extreme smoke conditions, technicians can retrieve data from the module daily.
Some characteristics of smoke accumulation are predictable. Up-slope breezes during the day often carry smoke to higher elevations. At night, these winds change direction and bring smoke down-slope to the lower elevations.
Other characteristics of smoke accumulation are less predictable since they are dependent on atmospheric conditions. With unstable atmospheric conditions, smoke from wildland fires is lofted to very high elevations where it disperses. When atmospheric conditions are stable, perhaps with an inversion layer, smoke can be trapped at lower elevations.
The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, state and federal fire management organizations, incident commanders, and Alaska Department of Energy Services work together to inform and protect those affected by smoke.
