Wildfire Ash Makes Missoula Air Quality Unhealthy for Now

Missoula, MT (KGVO-AM News) - It was a déjà vu moment on Monday, looking back on the 1980 Mount St. Helens eruption, as my wife’s black car parked outside overnight was covered with a coat of wildfire ash.

I spoke to Meteorologist Leann Allegretto on Monday morning about what happened overnight in Missoula.

There Was Visible Wildfire Ash on Vehicles on Monday Morning

“We actually got reports this morning of the same thing (ash) on roadways out here by the Missoula Airport,” began Allegretto. “So from what I can tell, we had some southerly flow last night, so winds and showers out of the south throughout the night. And my best guess would be, nothing's confirmed, but from how many fires there are to our south, that it drew a lot of what was burning and was put into the atmosphere, right up into the Missoula Valley.”

Allegretto deferred to the Missoula City-County Health Department when it comes to the actual air quality.

Air Quality Specialist Addresses Challenges for Schools and Parents

I spoke with Air Quality Specialist Ben Schmidt about today’s air quality challenges.

“We've got a lot of fires that took off yesterday (Sunday), not just the Sharrott Creek down near Stevensville, but even in Idaho and Oregon, and so the smoke and all the fires are pretty widespread,” said Schmidt. “The ash is most likely from the Sharrott Creek fire, and it's just enough breeze and enough activity to get that ash all the way over to the Missoula Valley and definitely cover big parts of the Northern Ravalli County.”

Schmidt said the air quality in western Montana can be a health issue for the next 24 to 48 hours.

“We're right on the edge, depending on exactly where you are, of Unhealthy to Very Unhealthy air quality,” he said. “This is bad enough that I really do encourage people, whenever they can, if they can, to find a clean indoor air space, you know, something that has filtered air, either with a MERV 13 or a MERV 11, and one of those indoor, small air cleaners, if they have those available.”

Schmidt Has Recommendations for Parents and Schools

Schmidt said his recommendation is for parents and schools to keep children indoors until the air quality improves.

“My recommendations would be to postpone some of these events, especially outdoor events,” he said. “If you don't have clean indoor air, and let's postpone those activities for a day or two. There is a good chance that we're going to see better air quality soon. There's some moisture with that system, and they're predicted with that system, and so if we get that, then we can dampen the fires a little bit. So, let's just take our time wait it out, and be ready to start up with our activities again once the smoke clears a bit.”

I spoke with Tyler Christensen with MCPS and the recommendation was that children remain indoors for recess until the air quality improves.