Heavy level of smoke hung over Havre

After the area was shrouded in smoke Monday from fires in both northwestern Montana and Idaho, an air quality alert has been lifted this morning for Havre and counties along the Hi-Line, and the outlook for relatively clear skies is good for the near future.

Decreased visibility brought on by those conditions was reported Monday morning in towns from Cut Bank eastward.

Kristen Martin, air quality meteorologist with the Montana Department of Environmental Quality said the alert was lifted after conditions improved overnight.

Montana DEQ issued the warning for Blaine, Glacier, Hill, Liberty and Toole counties. Both the Hill County Department of Public Health and DEQ recommended that people limit outdoor activity.

At about 2 p.m. Monday when the alert was issued, Montana DEQ said in a press release, visibility at the Havre City-County Airport was between 2 and 4 miles, indicating an unhealthy air quality.

"When air quality is unhealthy, state and local officials recommend that people with respiratory or heart disease, the elderly and children should avoid prolonged exertion; everyone should limit prolonged exertion," a release from the DEQ said.

Air quality standards are measured using monitors throughout the state, that measure the amount of small particles generated by a fire. However, when there are no monitors, as is the case in Havre, visibility can be used as a standard to assess air quality, Martin said.

Likewise on its website, Hill County Health Department described the air quality in and around Havre as hazardous and encouraged people to stay indoors as much as possible.

Martin said gusty western winds brought smoke from the Cooper-King Fire in Thompson Falls and the Pioneer Fire near Boise, Idaho, eastward.

"Just overnight those fires increased fairly dramatically, and so they sent a whole bunch of smoke into eastern Montana," Martin said.

The Cooper-King fire doubled in size Sunday night torching 6,900 acres near Thompson Falls, Martin said. The Daily Interlake reports that as of Monday morning 20 structures were evacuated near Thompson Falls as the inferno spread.

No casualties as a result of that fire had been reported as of deadline today.

Chris Zelzer, a forecaster with the National Weather Service in Great Falls said this morning that the shift overnight from western to northwestern winds has improved conditions. He said the clearer situation is expected to continue.

"The smoke will not be coming from the west anymore due to the wind shift, so it should be a clearer situation," Zelzer said.

Martin also said that a return to the smoke that engulfed this area Monday is not expected.

"It's always uncertain if new fires will pop up, but transported smoke into the Havre area is not expected at this time for the rest of the week," Martin said.