August 30, 2013 - Corral Complex and Forks Complex - Air Quality Report

Yesterday, August 29, 2013

Smoke sources on Corral and Forks Complex fires are now almost all coming from residual combustion of fuels in the fires’ interiors.  Burnout operations to connect indirect line with the fire perimeter on the Corral Complex continue to be thwarted by elevated relative humidities from the marine influence and lingering cloud cover.  24-hour average values in Orleans trended back toward the Good range, and monitors in Hoopa continue to record in solid green.  The monitor on Bald Hill did capture the smoke movement as the inversion lifted but never left the comfort of Good air quality.  On the other end of the spectrum, smoke at the Sawyers Bar monitor recorded much higher background levels through the day as the Jackass Gulch burning operation adjacent to the monitor location tied in.  Fuel conditions were dry enough that the fire threw a spot across the road but crews quickly suppressed the slopover.  The midday spike that records the inversion lift rose over 200 μ/m³, sending the 24-hour average firmly into the Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups category, but the hourly observations were hovering back in the teens by nightfall.  No carryover accumulation of smoke was observed at any other surrounding monitor locations.

Friday, August 30, 2013

With the Four Corners ridge nudging toward us as the Pacific low moves off, temperature and relative humidity values will continue to trend warmer and dryer today and winds will be light.  Consumption of fuels in the fires’ interiors will continue to plod along today as the fuels dry and become available. 

Outlook for the weekend and beyond

Slightly cooler temperatures are expected but decent daily dispersion with cooling and pooling overnight will persist through the weekend.   Late Sunday and possibly into Monday a slight chance of thunderstorms enters the picture but returns to the familiar warmer and dryer trend late Monday and Tuesday.   Smoke will settle in the Salmon and Klamath River drainages overnight but as the burn mosaic fills in and mop-up efforts snuff heat in increasing depth along the fires’ perimeter, volume will gradually decrease over time.  Visibility in Willow Creek should be Good for possible Bigfoot sightings over the weekend.  

Site	24-hour Average PM2.5 (µg/m3)	3-hour Max PM2.5 (μg/mᵌ)	Level of Health Concern	Meaning	Actions to Protect Yourself	Forecast for Friday Aug. 30, 2013
Gasquet Crescent City Yreka Hoopa Hoopa (Bald Hill) Garberville Willow Creek Somes Bar Orleans Weitchpec	3 5 4 4 4 2 5 4 11	7 14 7 8 16 8 10 7 17	Good	Air quality is satisfactory and poses little or no health risk	None	Gasquet Crescent City Yreka Hoopa Hoopa (Bald Hill) Garberville Willow Creek Somes Bar Weitchpec
			Moderate	Air quality is acceptable for most. There may be moderate health concern for a small number of sensitive people.	Unusually sensitive people should consider reducing prolonged or heavy outdoor exertion.	Sawyers Bar Orleans
Sawyers Bar	50		Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups	Members of sensitive groups may experience health effects.  The general public is not likely to be affected.	People with heart or lung disease, children, and older adults should limit prolonged or heavy outdoor exertion.
			Unhealthy	Everyone may begin to experience more serious health effects.	People with heart or lung disease, children and older adults should avoid all physical outdoor activity.  Everyone else should avoid prolonged or heavy exertion.