South Sound air gets smoky

Voluntary burn ban requested to help clear air

CHESTER ALLEN, THE OLYMPIAN

Originally published December 28, 2001

"We are asking people to avoid burning in a wood stove or fireplace if they have any other source of heat." -- Odelle Lariviere, air quality specialist

OLYMPIA -- The pool of cold, stagnant air blanketing South Sound is creating smoky, unhealthy air, the Olympic Air Pollution Control Authority said Thursday.

Smoke from thousands of wood stoves, pellet stoves and vehicles isn't getting blown away, said Odelle Lariviere, air quality specialist.

"We are asking people to avoid burning in a wood stove or fireplace if they have any other source of heat," Lariviere said.

The authority also is recommending carpooling, which will reduce the pollutants in the air, Lariviere said.

The requested burn ban is voluntary and is the first for South Sound during 2001, Lariviere said.

The poor air is unhealthy for elderly people, young children and those suffering from respiratory ailments such as asthma, Lariviere said.

OAPCA has stopped issuing permits for outdoor burning until air currents pick up and the stagnant air blows away, Lariviere said.

South Sound is under an inversion layer, which is when a layer of high-level warm air traps cold air against the ground, said Maggie Querciagrossa, a National Weather Service meteorologist.

A layer of 37-degree air was at ground level in Olympia at noon Thursday, while the temperature at 5,000 feet was 44 degrees, she said.

"Warm air wants to rise, while cold air wants to sink," she said.

South Sound got some fresh air late Thursday, as a weak storm blew in. The storm could drop up to a quarter-inch of rain and should break up the inversion layer, Querciagrossa said.

But balmy days are not in the weekend forecast. Nighttime temperatures will range from the upper 20s to the low 30s, Querciagrossa said. Daytime temperatures should be around 40 degrees.

Black ice on roadways is possible, she said.

Chester Allen is City Editor for The Olympian. He can be reached at 360-754-4223.

On the Web:

- Olympic Air Pollution Control Authority

- National Weather Service

The Olympian Copyright 2001

back to main Outdoors: Environment index