Dismal Swamp Fires Affect Peninsula Air Quality

By WYDaily Staff Saturday, August 13, 2011

Fires in the Great Dismal Swamp continue to affect air quality on the Peninsula, with Saturday's report showing conditions locally to be in a range that's unhealthy for "sensitive groups."

Those groups include people with heart or lung disease, older adults and children. All in that group should reduce prolonged or strenuous outdoor activities. People who are generally active outdoors should also take it easier to limit their exposure to particle pollution.

The fire began more than a week ago and has burned about 5600 acres in the swamp, which is near the North Carolina border.

As of Saturday morning, satellite images, citizen reports and weather station reports indicate that so far the smoke plume is staying further east than expected. That means counties and cities to the east of Charles City County and down the Peninsula to Newport News and Hampton are now being affected. Code Red conditions are now expected there, which means those in the sensitive groups should avoid prolonged or strenuous outdoor activities; all others should reduce their time outdoors.

The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality offers the following general guidelines for citizens to use in assessing local air quality conditions whenever there is wildfire smoke present:

• If you can smell smoke with no visibility impairment, air quality levels are probably in the Code Orange range, or Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups. At Code Orange levels, people with heart or lung disease, older adults and children should reduce prolonged or strenuous outdoor activities. People who are active outdoors also should take it easier to limit their exposure to particle pollution.

• If you can smell smoke with minor visibility impairment, air quality levels are probably in the Code Red range, or generally Unhealthy. At Code Red levels, people with heart or lung disease, older adults and children should avoid prolonged or strenuous outdoor activities; everyone else should reduce prolonged or strenuous outdoor activities.

• If you can smell smoke with significant visibility impairment, air quality levels are probably in the Code Purple range, or Very Unhealthy. At Code Purple levels, people with heart or lung disease, older adults and children should avoid all outdoor strenuous activities; everyone else should avoid prolonged or strenuous outdoor activities.