Fire Smoke in Unalakleet Area

Observation by John Henry:

During the day on Friday, June 14th, hazy, white smoke were observed in the adjoining areas of Unalakleet located N, NE, E, and SE to varying concentrations. The smell of the smoke was noted in the City of Unalakleet. Today around 8:30 AM, I took photos of the smoke in the general direction listed in the prior statement, with the exception of the NE section. The photographs were about the same state as the fire smoke this past Friday. The smell of fire smoke was still in the air.

Mary Mullan, with the Air Quality and Healthy Homes Program at ANTHC, writes:

Smoke from wildfires contain many different types of chemicals, toxins, and particulate matter that can cause serious health impacts to individuals. Smoke inhalation can especially impact those with respiratory illnesses, heart and lung disease, as well as children and elderly. It is important to keep your indoor air as clean as possible during wildfires, this video created by the Aleknagik Traditional Council gives great advice on how to protect yourself from wildfire smoke and here are some additional tips:

• Reduce indoor and outdoor physical activities
• Purchase a 20 inch box fan, and 20 inch high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) grade furnace filter. Minimum efficiency reporting value (MERV) 11 filters will also work and can be purchased online.
• Attach filter to fan with duct tape. Make sure arrow on fan is pointed away from the fan
• Use the fan only when someone is in the room. Make sure it does not overheat.
• Replace filter when dirty.

Comments from LEO Editors:

This observation has been forwarded to Kawerak, the Norton Sound Health Corporation, and the Alaska Fire Science Consortium.

The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation Division of Air Quality has issued an Air Quality Advisory for the Seward Peninsula and communities located around Norton Sound. This area is experiencing degraded air quality due to wildfire smoke from the North River fire located in the Western Interior. The advisory is in effect from Tuesday, June 18, 2019 8:00 AM to Friday June 21, 2019 4:00 PM.

For more detailed information on current wildland fires in Alaska, please see the Alaska Wildland Fire Information and the Alaska Interagency Coordination Center (AICC). As shown in the screenshot from the AICC current wildland fire map, the North River Fire is located north east of Unalakleet.