The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation issued air quality advisories for several regions of the state impacted by smoke from several large wildfires burning in Southwest Alaska. The advisories are for Southcentral, Western Interior, Southwest and Central and Eastern Regions of the state. The DEC Air Quality Advisory is in effect through 4:00 p.m. Tuesday, June 14.
The large complexity of the fires just west of the Alaska Range in southwest and Western Alaska continues with its explosive growth and produces large amounts of smoke that’s affected other parts of the state over the weekend. Winds out of the southwest have transported the smoke along the base of the Alaska Range and into Southcentral Alaska.
The fires will see some dampening due to the weather but not enough to subdue the complexity of the wildfires. The air quality and smoke intensity will vary between good and unhealthy depending on the wind flow, proximity to the fires, and your precise location. Smoke concentrations will be such that they could impact public health at times.
Weather forecasters say the air quality is being affected by unusually high concentrations of PM 2.5, which generally is the main pollutant emitted from wildfire smoke.
It is advised that travelers check local weather as smoke conditions may vary considerably from one locality to the next.