Smoke in Bitterroot Occasionally “Unhealthy,” But No Where Near as Bad as 2013

Smoke from fires in Idaho has been drifting into the Bitterroot Valley and reducing air quality. National Weather Service Meteorologist Jeff Kitzmiller confirmed the trend yesterday morning, September 9.

"Yeah, it does seem like there is some smoke moving in. I know the visibility is down just a little bit--you can tell from some of the webcams. It is being reported unhealthy for sensitive groups right now. Otherwise, it's actually hovering right now moderate, so that's not too bad. Actually, it looks like it might be improving a little bit already."

So far this year, air quality in the Bitterroot is far better than what the valley had to experience last year (just look at the above picture). Furthermore, the bad air seems like it will be on its way out soon.

"Their visibility down there was about one mile this time last year, so it's already a big improvement. But we have a big cold front that is going to make its way through. There's actually multiple cold fronts: today, tomorrow and even more into Thursday, so that will clean up the air. We also have a chance of some rain as well."

Kitzmiller says the expected cold fronts may even bring a few snowflakes.