By Laura Zuckerman
The Idaho Falls Post Register
SALMON, Idaho — Idaho Department of Environmental Quality officials scrambled Thursday to repair an air monitor in Salmon that stopped transmitting pollution readings Wednesday afternoon, when dense smoke from area wildfires settled over the valley.
Rensay Owen, regional manager for air quality with the DEQ office in Idaho Falls, said the malfunction was unfortunate but had no bearing on a recommendation already in place — advising Salmon-area residents stay indoors to avoid unhealthy air.
Owen said anecdotal reports the agency received Wednesday about diminished visibility, including near white-out conditions southeast of Salmon, underscored what already was known.
“The air is in the very unhealthy range and it is not likely to improve much for any length of time any time soon,” he said.
A thick haze has blanketed the area off and on since late July, when lightning ignited the Mustang Complex fire north of Salmon and the Halstead Fire near Stanley.
Air quality has steadily deteriorated, periodically triggering warnings from Idaho environmental and health officials for Lemhi County and neighboring Custer County.
Air pollution in North Fork — the center of firefighter operations for the Mustang blaze — soared into the hazardous zone Wednesday, according to monitoring by the U.S. Forest Service, Owen said.
Readings in the hazardous zone range from 301 to 500. The reading at North Fork was 370.
Bob Worrell, fire information officer, said air pollution also is a concern for fire managers, who seek to limit exposure of firefighters by rotating crews every 14 days.
The fine particles found in smoke and haze pose a health threat because they can enter lungs and even the bloodstream, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Studies have linked particle pollution to everything from premature death in people with heart or lung disease to aggravated asthma, according to an EPA report.
Smoky conditions Wednesday caused a medical helicopter to cancel a planned flight to Salmon to ferry a patient to a hospital in Montana.
Janet Nelson, Lemhi County emergency services coordinator, said that was the first smoke-caused cancellation this season.
Nelson said local and state officials are responding to requests for help by schools in Salmon, as well as the nursing home. Air-purifying filters are under consideration to improve conditions at those facilities.
The Salmon VA clinic, meanwhile, has ordered 95 masks for its clients and the county is offering masks to people who meet certain criteria, including elderly residents with respiratory ailments.
Those seeking masks from the county can contact Nelson at (208) 756-2815, ext. 266.
The DEQ’s Owen said the air quality forecast for Saturday morning, when the Salmon Marathon gets under way, is poor.
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