Large Incident Fire Map (click here)
July 28, 2019
July 10, 2019
By Mattie Stone
Historic, record-breaking heat (click here) isn’t the only environmental malaise that’s gripped Alaska this summer. So has wildfire smoke.
An incredible satellite image taken on July 8 shows smoke spreading far and wide across Alaska as a spate of hot, dry weather causes the state’s wildfire season to kick into high gear. Dense smoke advisories and red flag fire warnings are currently in effect across interior Alaska and on the Kenai Peninsula, while concentrations of particulate matter, which can lodge in the lungs and cause breathing problems, have surged to dangerous levels around Fairbanks and surrounding communities. Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Policy climatologist Rick Thoman, who’s based in Fairbanks, said that visibility is currently about a mile and described the air quality as “terrible,” noting that one air quality station notched a particulate matter reading of over 700 this morning. Levels over 250 are considered hazardous to human health.
“You can look right at the Sun and it’s that blood orange color” Thoman said....A smoky Alaska, seen by a NASA satellite on July 8, 2019.
