Wildfire and Air Quality Response 2012 and Beyond

Pete LahmForest ServiceFire and Aviation Management Washington, D.C.

WESTAR Fall Business MeetingOctober 30, 2012

An Evolving Program: Scope

• Public Health• Fire Personnel Exposure• Transportation Safety

Interagency Interagency WildfireWildfire Air Quality Response Air Quality Response

National EffortNational EffortCadre of Air Resource Advisors (ARA) DevelopedCadre of Air Resource Advisors (ARA) DevelopedRange of Skills (ARA 1, 2 & 3)Range of Skills (ARA 1, 2 & 3)FS, BLM, FWS, NPS, ContractorFS, BLM, FWS, NPS, ContractorCoordinated and Assigned via FS Smoke LeadCoordinated and Assigned via FS Smoke Lead

Multi-tiered ApproachMulti-tiered Approach Incident LevelIncident LevelState Level Program EffortsState Level Program EffortsArea CommandArea CommandGeographic Area Coordination Centers Geographic Area Coordination Centers Regional Wildfire Decision Support Center Regional Wildfire Decision Support Center

Interagency Interagency WildfireWildfire Air Quality Response Air Quality Response

Incident specific forecasting & modelingIncident specific forecasting & modeling Monitoring – Deployment, Interpretation and Monitoring – Deployment, Interpretation and

Dissemination Dissemination CommunityCommunityBase CampBase Camp

Transportation Safety Alerts and ResponseTransportation Safety Alerts and Response Cohesive Messaging - Public and Partners:Cohesive Messaging - Public and Partners:

Area-wide Area-wide Multi-incident Multi-incident Coordinated messaging Coordinated messaging

Multi-state/agency modeling & forecastingMulti-state/agency modeling & forecasting

2012 Wildfire Air Quality Response

•Incidents: •County Line Fire - FL •Dad Fire - NC•High Park Fire - CO •Fontenelle - WY •Halstead & Mustang in ID

•Smoke Program Coordination:•AZ •NM•OR •MT •WA

2012 Wildfire Air Quality Response

•Area Command:•SW ID

•Decision Support Center: •Region 2 Area-wide

•Geographic Area Coordination Center:•North Zone CA

***Many incidents without direct ARA support issued smoke information and warnings to local affected public and addressed transportation impacts (Inciweb.org)

Monitoring:-15 E-Samplers PM2.5Tied to GOES availablefrom NIFC -Data available on-line-More in 2013

Many Forests, Refuges and Parks have monitors EPA???

Issues• Display and Interpretation of Monitoring Data • Communications and Coordination

– Who, Where, When and What Message – Weekends

• Planning for Wildfire Air Quality Response 2013

A Few ChallengesMonitoring – Who does it and for how long?

- Equipment Support (FLM, State, EPA)?

- FRM or not? Availability of data?

Contact Points-

-EPA, Tribes, State, District, County,

Health Dept., NWS-WFO, etc.

ARA Recruitment

- FLM’s and contractors now

-EPA??? State Agency Personnel???

A Few ChallengesMessaging/Forecasting:

-Use of Short-term (1-3 hr) Impacts: •Wildfire Guide (CA, ID, Navajo Nation)

•AK & CO

•MT, NM

•OR

•Canada 3 level AQHI designed for Wildfire

-Use of Long-term (24 hr) Impacts: •Current AQI

•Proposed AQI

•WA, NM, MT (visual range role)

-WA, NM, MT

Training EffortsTraining Efforts

Air Resource Advisor-Air Resource Advisor-

JFSP-supported Training, JFSP-supported Training,

March 2013 in SeattleMarch 2013 in Seattle

Smoke Management and Air Quality for Land Managers – Online 90 minute course

Wildfire and Air Quality Decision-making – Wildfire and Air Quality Decision-making – 4-hr online modular course under development4-hr online modular course under development

Thank you! Questions, Comments, Discussion

AND IAWF/NWCG SmoC Fall 2013 International Smoke Symposium

Pete Lahm202-205-1084

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, and where applicable, sex, marital status, familial status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, political beliefs, reprisal, or because all or a part of an individual's income is derived from any public assistance program.

Photo courtesy Lorraine Vogt