Boise-area air quality worsens to ‘orange’ rating, prompting Ada County burn ban
Air quality in Boise will worsen as the week goes on, according to forecasts from the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality.
According to the DEQ, the Boise area’s air quality index will be in the orange category on Wednesday. That category means the air is unsafe for sensitive groups such as children, the elderly and those with air pollution sensitivities. At times, the air quality could worsen to the red category, which means it’s unsafe for the general public, while sensitive groups face worsening risks.
An orange-air forecast also means outdoor burning of any kind is banned in Ada and Canyon counties in an effort to avoid adding more pollutants to the air.
Michael Toole, airshed coordinator for the DEQ’s Boise regional office, said in a phone interview that Tuesday was expected to be an orange-level air quality day, too. However, a fast-moving storm pushed a lot of smoky air out of the region Monday evening, leaving it slightly less polluted Tuesday.
“It doesn’t look like we’re going to get that kind of relief again,” Toole said.
Air quality in the red category is more likely in the mornings and evenings, as temperatures cool and smoke settles closer to the ground. The cooler temperatures also bring more smoke from North Idaho fires, Toole said.
“When the sun goes down … (the smoke) just goes downhill and can get into the valley and impact us overnight,” he said. “We’re at the mercy of where the winds and drainages are.”
The bulk of the pollution is still coming from Northern California and the Bootleg Fire in south-central Oregon, which has grown to more than 388,000 acres and is the largest fire in the country.
Toole advised Boise residents to check the most current air quality conditions at airquality.deq.idaho.gov, as conditions can change quickly. During this summer of record heat and plenty of wildfire smoke, the Treasure Valley has managed to stay mostly in the yellow air quality category, but now that’s changing.
The continued smoky conditions come as temperatures in the Boise area are expected to hover just below highs of 100 degrees for the next several days, according to forecasts from the National Weather Service. The Boise branch of the NWS announced on social media Tuesday that the region had broken yet another heat record. This time, the final recorded low temperature of 80 degrees on July 19 was the warmest low temp in more than 100 years. On June 30, 1892, the low was 81.
This story was originally published July 20, 2021 at 4:57 PM.
