Wild Fire Smoke Forecasting Tool Launched
By 250 News
Tuesday, August 10, 2010 10:37 AM
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Prince George, B.C.- Less than a week after smoke from wildfires in the Cariboo sparked an air quality advisory in Prince George, the Province has unveiled a new tool for gauging the patterns of smoke dispersion.(At right, smoke blanketed Prince George last week, photo opinion250 archive)
The BlueSky Western Canada Smoke Forecasting System combines forest fire information, including location and size, with weather forecast computer models to provide an hour-by-hour forecast of the location and concentrations of smoke in B.C. and Alberta up to 48 hours into the future.
BlueSky is operated by UBC's Department of Earth and Ocean Sciences and is based on a similar system used in the United States.
Much like the “weather radar” images which show the concentrations of storms, smoke forecasts for B.C.and Alberta are produced daily and displayed as hour-by-hour animations of smoke plume locations with corresponding fine particulate matter (PM2.5) concentrations due to smoke.
The new tool will help British Columbia's Ministry of Environment decide when to issue air quality advisories to warn the public about the risks from wood smoke.
You can view the new tool by clicking here.
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I would say slow since the system has existed and was not a new development. Forest fires are not new in this province and neither is the fact that smoke from them has been impacting various communities throughout BC. Maybe this time they have finally impacted the right community.
Anyway, water under the bridge. Right? Moving forward. Right?
So what other things are causing some concern and could actually be quickly addressed to improve the system if someone would just take the time to check it out?