DEQ Issues Air Quality Alert For 12 Counties; Smoke To Worsen Tuesday

By Keila Szpaller, Daily Montanan

August 1, 2021

The Montana Department of Environmental Quality issued Monday an air quality alert for 12 counties, and if you’re looking for clean air in the state, you’ll likely have to wait.

“Unfortunately, there’s nothing in the forecast that’s indicating we’re going to get a big breath of fresh air,” said Kevin Stone of the DEQ.

In a joint news release, the DEQ and Department of Public Health and Human Services encouraged people in Beaverhead, Carbon, Gallatin, Lewis and Clark, Madison, Missoula, Park, Pondera, Powder River, Powell, Ravalli, and Sweet Grass counties to protect their lungs because the air is “unhealthy for sensitive groups” or “unhealthy.”

The air monitoring station in Libby was the only one out of 22 in the state showing “good” air on Monday afternoon, according to the DEQ’s website. “Air quality across the state ranges from ‘moderate’ to ‘unhealthy,’ with the worst air quality concentrations occurring south of the I-90 corridor,” the DEQ and DPHHS said in the news release. “Smoke from wildfires is impacting most of the northwestern U.S. due to the number of active fires in the region.”

Air quality is only expected to get worse Tuesday, the DEQ said. Smoke is flowing into Montana from western states, and fires in Montana also are making the air dirty.

At times, it’s possible to pinpoint the source or sources of smoke via satellite imagery, Stone said. However, the smoke was so thick Monday, specific sources of the haze and bad air weren’t clear.

“This is just the whole region blanketed at this time,” he said.

A high pressure ridge is causing Montana to heat up, and it’s also trapping the air, so the smoke likely will hang around for the time being, according to the DEQ. Go to TodaysAir.mt.gov for the most recent information.

The DEQ’s website noted the following cities as having unhealthy air: Frenchtown, Dillon, Bozeman, Broadus and Seeley Lake. The following were unhealthy for sensitive groups: Missoula, Hamilton, Butte, Helena, Great Falls, Lewistown, Havre, Malta, Red Lodge, Billings and Thompson Falls.

When air quality is unhealthy, active children and adults, and people who have a chronic condition, such as asthma or another respiratory disease, or cardiovascular disease, should avoid prolonged outdoor exertion, according to the DEQ and DPHHS.

“This summer, DEQ will post smoke forecasts during times when smoke is causing air quality impacts. The forecasts will be posted to social media and on: TodaysAir.mt.gov by clicking on the ‘Wildfire Smoke Outlook’ link,” the news release said.

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