It's not too early to prepare for smoke

COEUR d’ALENE — While locals were doing a double-take at the smoky conditions late last week, the largest ever Northwest Smoke Management meeting was taking place in Seattle.

Hosted by the EPA, the Seattle two-day gathering was focused on getting communities throughout the region “smoke ready.” Now in its 10th year, the meeting attracted health professionals, land managers, tribal leaders, academics and agency officials who all shared the latest data and set the agenda for helping the public prepare for another smoky summer.

That includes us in the Inland Northwest.

“The Coeur d’Alene area, due to geography, local weather patterns and recent history, is an area we are encouraging to be ‘Smoke Ready’ this summer,” said EPA spokesman Mark MacIntyre. “We’re teaming with local health authorities on both sides of the state border to hope for the best, but prepare for the worst when it comes to summer wildfire smoke.”

MacIntyre said good information on preparing for the smoke, which seemingly invades the area a little earlier each year, can be found at: https://bit.ly/2W4uDW3

In Friday’s Press, the newspaper reported that smoke from wildfires in Alberta, Canada, had created hazy conditions here. Residents have gotten used to smoky air in August and September, but late May left many befuddled — and worried.

Get used to it, attendees of the Northwest Smoke Management meeting agreed.

“We convened the region’s leading smoke experts to talk about the intersection of smoke and public health,” said Chris Hladick, EPA’s regional administrator in Seattle. “As we wrap up Wildfire Awareness Month, the research is clear: Smoke from wildfires poses serious health threats. We need to deliver the latest information to our threatened communities, in an understandable way, so they can be better prepared to deal with smoke this summer.”

Organizers acknowledged that one of the biggest factors behind this year’s record-setting attendance is the general recognition that hotter, drier summers are dramatically affecting wildfire frequency, duration, scale and severity. Experts agree that improvements in both land management and public health protection need to evolve as rapidly as climate science and on-the-ground observations with each new, unprecedented fire season. They also agree that a daunting amount of work remains to be done to help all communities be better prepared.

Those in attendance also discussed strategies to increase fuel treatments — including prescribed burning — to reduce catastrophic wildfire risk.