This summer was an active one for the air quality alert system issued by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE). Although the wildfires in Canada have been much more contained as of the start of the new semester, Tech students and locals alike should keep their heads on the horizon as they plan to explore the Keweenaw this fall.
According to the EGLE Air Quality Division’s report, over 21 air quality alerts graced the Upper Peninsula between the end of June and the beginning of August this year. When asked about the health risks associated with the fine particulate smoke, Peter Baril, interim director of Environmental Health for the Hancock office of Public Health, clarified, “There’s a lot of things that we’re concerned with… especially people with heart disease, people with lung disease.”
He says that, like many environmental hazards, those most at risk are young children, the elderly, and those with underlying conditions. There can be “issues with your eyes, wheezing, coughing, shortness of breath, triggering asthma attacks and heart failure,” in the worst cases, said Baril
Baril urges that the most important ways to keep yourself safe during periods of heavy smoke are to keep an eye on smoke forecasts, recommending Airnow.gov for its ability to give real-time air quality measures for a user’s location: “If it looks like it’s going to be really bad on Friday and you can move your field trip to Wednesday, then that’s a really great idea.”
The smoke has been clear around campus lately, and the last air quality alert was a few weeks ago, but there’s no guarantee that the still-raging fires will not affect the area’s residents in the near future.
“There’s been a higher occurrence of what people call ‘megafires,’” said Jim Schmierer, professor of MTU’s Wildland Fire course, when asked about the possibility of the smoke returning.
Professor Schmierer explained that indiscriminately suppressing both natural and unnatural wildfires, as was policy for decades, is ultimately a short-term solution that ends up leaving the next fire with more fuel, stating, “There’s been a feedback based on past practice. It’s more difficult to harness fire and to use fire as a tool when you have forests in that condition.”
Ultimately, the forests remain extremely susceptible to out-of-control burning, and adding an occasional glance to the air quality index when checking the weather may be advisable when planning to be outside for long periods of time.
