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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -- Oct. 22, 1999
99-218
Contact: Jani Gilbert, Public Information Manager, (509) 456-4464; pager, 509-622-1289
SPOKANE-Agricultural burning in Eastern Washington appears to be substantially reduced this year, according to officials with the Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology).
Grant Pfeifer, Ecology's air-quality supervisor in Spokane, said that fewer burning permits have been issued this year, and airplane surveillance indicates growers are doing a better job of complying with burning requirements.
At the end of September, the total number of acreage permitted to burn this fall in Eastern Washington was just under 80,000 acres, compared to a total number of permitted acreage in the fall of 1998 of more than 150,000 acres.
Meanwhile, a week-long inversion has trapped air pollution close to the ground across Eastern Washington. In response, Ecology has halted agricultural burning in the region since Oct. 16, so it does not appear to be the cause of the present hazy conditions.
The current weather conditions have prompted a heavy influx of complaint calls to Ecology, other agencies and elected officials. The smoke seen this week likely came from wood stoves and forest slash burning before forestry agencies in Washington and Idaho halted the burning due to the weather inversion.
"Our field investigations from the air and on the ground show farmers are complying this year with the ‘no-burn day' requirement," Pfeifer said.
In addition to the ban in effect since Oct. 16, agricultural burning in all of Eastern Washington was allowed for only a few hours a day before the ban (on Oct. 13, 14 and 15). Overflights conducted during the past two weeks found no agricultural burning on the burn-ban days. Two or three possible violations that were observed just prior to that time will be investigated.
County permitting authorities throughout Eastern Washington issue burn bans when weather conditions cause air to be trapped close to the ground. Officials use a computerized weather model that visually presents accurate local wind and vertical air-mixing information to help them predict when smoke dispersion is good and bad.
The computer model was developed by Ecology in collaboration with the University of Washington's School of Atmospheric Sciences.
"Making a no-burn decision is tricky, since weather conditions can change abruptly. But the computer technology helps predict these changes more accurately and to clearly visualize the important factors needed for smoke dispersion," Pfeifer said. "It really helps us all do a better job of protecting the public."
Copyright © Washington State Department of Ecology. See http://www.ecy.wa.gov/copyright.html.
