The Department of Environmental Quality says air quality in Southeastern Idaho is good

With recent wildfires around the state, some areas in Idaho are seeing smoke and haze fill the sky.

So we decided to look into air quality throughout the state.

The Department of Environmental Quality said right now, Southeastern Idaho looks good. Most of the area is in the “Good” category for air quality, including Idaho Falls and Pocatello.

The DEQ said some areas are seeing a little lower quality, but the majority of the state is not at risk for health concerns right now.

The DEQ in Pocatello monitors seven counties. It has machines that monitor the air for pollutants and feed information real-time back to the DEQ and its website. The website updates air quality about every 15 minutes.

The DEQ uses PM-10 and PM-2.5 scales to measure the number of pollutants in the air. Those scales show if pollution particles are smaller than 10 or 2.5 microns in diameter.

Melissa Gibbs, air quality manager for the DEQ Pocatello region, said the smaller the particle, the greater the health concerns.

The reason for this is that smaller particles have a greater chance of getting deeper into a person’s lungs.

Based on the number from the PM scales, areas are then assigned an index score.

“Essentially, when we monitor for air quality, we monitor on a scale called the Air Quality Index Scale, which kind of takes those pollutant concentrations and puts it in a scale rating it from good to moderate to unhealthy for sensitive groups to unhealthy for everyone,” Gibbs said. “So as you increase in those color categories of the AQI, you start to experience some health effects.”

As of Monday, Franklin County was the only one in Southeast Idaho with a “moderate” rating. But other areas around the state are seeing worse air quality. Idaho City near Boise is in the “unhealthy” category.

Gibbs said it’s not the only area seeing a little lower rating.

“Our Twin Falls regional office issued an air quality advisory for Blaine County, which is basically the area of Sun Valley and Ketchum, and that advisory was put in place because the air quality there was in the “unhealthy for sensitive groups” category,” Gibbs said.

The DEQ defines “sensitive groups” as children, elderly, and anyone with a heart or respiratory condition. The DEQ does predict the air quality could drop to “moderate” by the end of the week, but for right now, they said the air is good.

To check your area’s current air quality, go to the DEQ’s website.

Even though Franklin County is seeing a little lower air quality, a recent burn ban may help. The ban includes all fireworks and open fires, except campfires within a secure fire pit. The county is also not issuing any permits for agricultural burns.

Other counties in the area with burn bans already in place are Bannock, Caribou and Power counties.