Behind the scenes of Air Resource Advisors

Air Resources are trained to work on smoke issues from wildland fires

TAOS, N.M., Aug. 14, 2023 –Being outdoors during a local fire can have detrimental effects on your health. However, even weeks after a fire has been fully contained, you could still be recreating in hazardous air quality. The USDA-Forest Service and partnerships recognized this concern and developed the Interagency Wildland Fire Air Quality Response Program (IWFAQRP) and use Air Resource Advisors (ARAs) to communicate and address these potential risks.

ARAs are technical specialists in air quality and smoke dispersion science. During a wildfire incident, ARAs are dispatched to assess the potential impacts of public health and safety. ARAs set up monitoring equipment where monitoring data does not exist. Using these monitors, ARAs distribute the analyzed data and summarize it for Incident Management Teams (IMTs), local agencies, tribes, and the public in real time. The smoke monitors measure fine particle matter and transmit the data via satellite to https://fire.airnow.gov/.

Incident Command Brian Kitchen states, “ARAs play a crucial role in public and fire personnel health and safety. This important support provides information to the IMTs necessary to perform firefighting operations and helps educate partner agencies and the people in our communities.”  To learn more about ARAs and IWFAQRPs, visit: https://www.wildlandfiresmoke.net/. To learn best management practices for tips on protecting your health when and if smokes affects surface air quality, visit: https://nmfireinfo.com/smoke-management/ .