EPA STAR – Integrating smoke and air quality into the Alaska Wildfire Explorer

Access up-to-date fire and smoke information to support daily decisions in Alaska

Alaska’s wildfire season can bring rapidly changing air quality, and Alaska residents need up-to-date information about wildfires and smoke to make informed decisions for themselves, their families, and their communities. The Alaska Wildfire Explorer tool allows users to access information about current and future wildfire risk. This project enhanced the tool by adding current and future air quality information with data layers that are updated daily and searchable at the community level.

Data available:

• Current Wildfire: Fire locations and boundaries for the current fire season (both active and inactive/out fires), locations of recent hotspots, lightning strikes, and fire danger warnings
• Smoke and Air Quality: Current smoke plumes, current air quality, forecast air quality (6 hour, 12 hour, 24 hour, and 48 hour forecasts)
• Past & Future Wildfire: Historical fire maps and lightning strikes, and historical and projected future flammability

How to use the air quality information in Alaska Wildfire Explorer

To help you get the most out of this tool, we’ve shared stories of how Alaskans can use wildfire and smoke information during common summer activities in a comic book user guide. 

Wildfire smoke impacts people differently, so each story highlights a unique way the tool can be used to check air quality and wildfire conditions to help you make informed choices during a wildfire smoke event. From families with young children to Elders with health concerns, and outdoor workers to healthy adults, these stories offer practical tips for using this information in your daily life. We hope these examples help you feel confident in using the Alaska Wildfire Explorer tool to make decisions to stay healthy during wildfire season.

Download the complete comic book or individual stories that can be distributed or posted for educational use:

• Read the comic book online – the 12-page comic book as an online web magazine.
• Complete comic book – the 12-page comic book as a .pdf file that includes an introduction, 4 stories, and resources with additional information. (File size: 15MB)
• Individual pages as posters
  • Culture camp story – Poster (8×14 inch) with a focus on children and Elders.
  • Berry picking story – Poster (8×14 inch) with a focus on Elders and subsistence activities.
  • Dipnetting trip story – Poster (8×14 inch) with a focus on outdoor recreation and health conditions that may be impacted by smoke (asthma).
  • Brush clearing work party story – Poster (8×14 inch) with a focus on outdoor work participants and personal protective equipment (PPE) use.

Additional resources on wildfire smoke and health:

• Questions and Answers: Wildfire Smoke, Health & Safety: General information about protecting yourself and your family from fire and smoke (Alaska Dept of Environmental Conservation)
• Protecting Children from Wildfire Smoke & Ash: Extra precautions for children during a smoke or ash event (US EPA)
• Wildfire Smoke Fact Sheet for At-Risk Groups of People (PDF): Smoke-related health considerations for young people, the elderly, those with chronic diseases, and other at-risk groups (US EPA)
• Guidance for Wearing a Filtering Facepiece Respirator (PDF): Instructions for how to properly fit a filtering face mask (CDC)
• Create a Clean Room to Protect Indoor Air Quality During a Wildfire: Instructions for how to set up your own clean room at home for extra protection from smoke (US EPA)
• How to Build a Low-Cost Air Filter (PDF): Instructions for building your own indoor air filter at home using a box fan and other materials (University of Washington)

Project Description

The JUSTICE-HIA (JUst Solutions To Impacts of Climate Exposures for Health In Alaska) project used a co-production approach to develop data tools that provide locally relevant information to support real-world decisions about wildfire smoke, climate, and health adaptation in Alaska communities. We began with one-on-one meetings to understand what decisions team members wanted to make using the tools. Through a series of workshops, we collaboratively selected datasets, tested tool features, and gathered feedback. To support broader use of Alaska Wildfire Explorer, we partnered with comic artists to create a user guide featuring Alaska-specific scenarios, populations sensitive to wildfire smoke, and practical ways to use the tool to reduce exposure and protect public health during wildfire season.

Funding Information

This work was supported by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Assistance Agreement No. 84047901 awarded to University of Alaska Anchorage (Principal Investigator: Micah Hahn). It has not been formally reviewed by EPA. The views expressed in this document are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Agency. EPA does not endorse any products or commercial services mentioned in this publication.

For questions about this project and its outputs email AlaskaSmokeStories@alaska.edu