The hotter temperatures have increased wildfire activity immensely and wildfire smoke is spread out across the county resulting in Moderate air quality throughout. This heat wave and high-pressure ridge are peaking this afternoon. Winds are forecasted to shift easterly instead of westerly which should relieve us of the smoke the westerly winds are carrying towards Missoula County. BUT they have the potential to bring smoke from Canada or the Windy Rock and Devil Mtn fires east of Missoula County into our valleys. These winds are supposed to be quite strong and gusty, also increasing fire activity. Stay updated on changing air quality conditions at Fire.AirNow.Gov. In the GOES 18 satellite imagery below, you can see A LOT of smoke floating around, but here in Missoula area, smoke is relatively light at the time of the picture (approximately 1pm).
Montana Department of Environmental Quality, or MT DEQ, has issued an Air Quality Alert for Missoula County in effect now until 9AM tomorrow (9/4/25). This was issued because particulate matter (PM) levels from wildfire smoke are increasing, specifically PM2.5 (PM microns or less in size). DEQ warns that an exceedance of the 24hr National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) may occur. That means that there is potential for air quality to be Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups or Orange for 24hrs (PM2.5 levels over 35.4ug/m3). IF that were to occur, it’d most likely occur over in Helena and Great Falls where air quality is already at Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups levels.
Higher temperature evening lows will make it difficult to cool off residences tonight coupled with wildfire smoke in the air. If you have central A/C or a window A/C unit, consider running it this afternoon and into tomorrow instead of opening your windows. If you need to open your windows to cool your home off, definitely do so as the health impacts from heat are more immediate than those from wildfire smoke exposure. Once your home is cooled off, start cleaning your indoor air by using a HEPA air cleaner, a DIY box fan filter, or using a MERV13+ furnace filter in your HVAC system.
Don’t have a HEPA air cleaner or wanting to get another? Northwestern Energy is still offering their incredible rebate incentive to give you $100 back on an Energy Star Certified HEPA air cleaner for their residential customers. Check out the resources at MontanaWildfireSmoke.org before you buy a HEPA air cleaner. Then, once you’ve purchased one, fill out this HEPA Air Cleaner $100 Rebate Form!
I know I already said this above, but Mushu, your local air quali-kitty wants to drive this point home: stay up to date on current air quality by checking Fire.AirNow.Gov! Download the app, bookmark the page on your computer, do whatever works best for you. Bonus points if you take a minute to read about the Air Quality Index to learn what actions to take at different levels of air quality.
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