Observation: The air is filled with smoke making site distance low and possibly affecting air quality.
LEO says: Whatcom County started the month of August off with a hazy start with winds coming from the northwest, bringing smoke from BC forest fires. The current heat wave has also created the ideal conditions for a wildfire that has scorched 63 acres in the Chuckanut Mountains that continued to burn Thursday, with about half of that area under control, according to fire authorities. According to data on the Department of Ecology Washington State Air Monitoring site, at 4 p.m. Thursday, the monitoring site on Yew Street in Bellingham registered air quality in the “unhealthy” range with a Washington Air Quality Advisory value of 160. This is up from the rating of 22 on Tuesday.
Another resource to track the wild fires
EPA researchers are conducting a citizen science study called Smoke Sense to:
-Determine the extent to which exposure to wildland fire smoke affects health and productivity
-Develop health risk communication strategies that protect public health during smoke days
"The study will be the first of its kind known to use a mobile application to evaluate health effects from wildland fires experienced by those who participate, and to test whether such an app communicates health risks effectively. Data gathered through Smoke Sense is anticipated to help EPA researchers and communities determine how smoke from fires impacts our health and productivity and gain important insights needed to develop health risk communication methods during smoky days."
https://www.epa.gov/air-research/smoke-sense-study-citizen-science-project-using-mobile-app
Resources:
Fields, A. (2017, August 3). County air quality “unhealthy,” limited activity outdoors
recommended. Bellingham Herald. Retrieved from http://www.bellinghamherald.com/news/local/
article165190377.html#storylink=cpy
Hutton, C., & Fields, A. (2017, August 3). Chuckanut fire 50 percent under control; full containment
expected by week's end. Bellingham Herald. Retrieved from http://www.bellinghamherald.com/news/local/article165179027.html#storylink=cpy
Dhammapala, R., & Washungton Department of Ecology. (2017, August 4). Mild recovery started and paused [Blog post]. Retrieved from Washington Smoke Information website:
http://wasmoke.blogspot.com/
