The valleys of Mineral County have seen increased smoke as the Sunrise and Burdette fire continue to grow east of Superior. Air monitoring stations have been set up in Superior and the Quartz Creek Campground with links to the inciweb.com online page. According to the Wildland Fire Air Quality Response Program, there were periods of thick and some poor visibility along Interstate -90 last week. Also periods of unhealthy conditions in Superior and Quartz Creek areas. Other areas including Alberton and St. Regis were experiencing hazy conditions with reports of moderate air quality.

According to the Montana Department of Environmental Quality’s (DEQ) Air Quality Bureau, the air in the area has mostly fluctuated between moderate and being unhealthy for sensitive groups.

“The concentrations are going to be more in the mornings when the smoke particles have settled closer to the surface,” DEQ meteorologist Kristen Martin said in a previous interview. “The air will look hazier in the afternoons as the fires pick up during the heat of the day.”

The DEQ monitors air quality conditions across Montana with the use of 19 monitoring stations positioned across the state. Data from the stations is compiled and listed on the DEQ’s “Today’s Air” website at http://svc.mt.gov/deq/todaysair/

The results from the monitoring stations are updated hourly and are categorized into one of six air quality levels:

- Data Unavailable: Air quality data for the current hour are unavailable.

- Good: No health impacts are expected when air quality is in this range.

- Moderate: Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting prolonged outdoor exertion.

- Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups: People with heart or lung disease, older adults, children, and people of lower SES should reduce prolonged or heavy exertion.

- Unhealthy: People with heart or lung disease, older adults, children, and people of lower SES should avoid prolonged or heavy exertion; everyone else should reduce prolonged or heavy exertion.

- Very Unhealthy: People with heart or lung disease, older adults, children, and people of lower SES should avoid all physical activity outdoors. Everyone else should avoid prolonged or heavy exertion.

- Hazardous: Everyone should avoid all physical activity outdoors; people with heart or lung disease, older adults, children, and people of lower SES should remain indoors and keep activity levels low.

According to Martin, low air quality affects children and the elderly most significantly (and those with respiratory conditions), and those groups should be aware of air quality when planning outside activities. The ‘Today’s Air” website says that visibility is an easy and effective way to judge air quality without taking measurements. The visibility guidelines for the different air quality levels are as follows:

- Good: 13.4+ miles

- Moderate: 13.3 - 8.8 miles

- Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups: 8.7 – 5.1 miles

- Unhealthy: 5.0 – 2.2 miles

- Very Unhealthy: 2.1 – 1.3 miles

- Hazardous: less than 1.3 miles