Smoke Management and Air Quality

Air quality alerts and advisories: None at this time (see more AQ Monitoring and information on Current Fires).

 

Sept 13th, 2011: No fires in the region were impacting Yosemite air quality
Source: <a href="http://www.firedetect.noaa.gov/viewer.htm">http://www.firedetect.noaa.gov/viewer.htm</a>

 

Yosemite Air Quality Monitoring: Fine particles/smoke at the Yosemite Valley Visitor's Center

The chart below plots both the 1-hour and running 24-hour average PM_2.5 concentration, but only the 24-hour average should be used to compare with the standard. The standard is exceeded when the 24-hour concentrations go above 35 micrograms per cubic meter, as denoted by the line with the label NAT'L AMBIENT AIR QUALITY STANDARD. The background of the chart is color coded and relates to the EPA National Ambient Air Quality Standard for particulate matter, which is designed to protect human health.

 

Yosemite Webcams

View of the Merced River Canyon, looking west from Yosemite's Turtleback Dome, at 5,266 feet in elevation, toward the Central Valley. Direct links to other Yosemite webcams are below: 

Ahwahnee Meadow webcam in the Yosemite Valley, looking east toward Halfdome*

Sentinel Dome webcam near Glacier Point, looking east toward Halfdome*

Turtleback Dome webcam above the west end of Yosemite Valley, looking east toward Halfdome*

Crane Flat Helibase webcam, looking east into the park, toward latest wildland fires

Past images of these webcams are also archived on the SWFRS web site.

 

A note on campfires and campgrounds: Some Yosemite campgrounds have many campsites and campfires. Emissions from many simultaneous campfires can degrade air quality on a local scale. This is especially true in the nighttime and early morning hours, when inversions trap and concentrate fine particles from those campfires near the ground, creating local conditions that are potentially unhealthy for sensitive individuals.

 

NASA

Click to see today's NASA satellite imagery of the Yosemite area.

Online Tools to Locate a Fire Nearby

• MODIS satellite imagery often captures plumes from large fires via high-resolution (250m), color images of the Fresno/Yosemite area (2 images per day).
• Download fire maps and fire perimeters from GeoMAC's (Geospatial Multi-Agency Coordination Group) federal mapping tools.
• Get specific fire information on current Sierra Nevada fires from the Sierra Wildland Fire Reporting System (SWFRS).