Statewide air quality advisory issued

Several Western Montana counties are once again under an Air Quality Alert due to lingering wildfire smoke.

This advisory is in effect through 2 p.m. Thursday, at which time conditions will be evaluated again on a county?by?county basis.

Question: Have you been affected by the lousy air? That includes campfires, recreational fires, weed burning and residential burning.

Meanwhile, short-term exposure is unhealthy for sensitive groups, but anyone who has been exposed to this air for more than an hour is experiencing unhealthy conditions and should take appropriate precautions. It also does not apply to firefighters working to suppress fires. Stage 1 is the lowest, while Stage 4 is an Emergency situation.

There is a tremendous amount of smoke coming off fires burning throughout the region. Air Quality officials say smoke is made of small dust particles and other pollutants that can aggravate respiratory diseases and contribute to ground-level ozone formation.

In areas where DEQ does not have air monitors or for persons without ready access to the Today’s Air website, visibility can be used to help identify unhealthy smoke levels. Even if we don’t get hit with the center of the Washington plume, there’s still plenty of smoke from Idaho headed our way.