Which Montana Counties Are Under Air Quality Alerts Right Now

Wildfires across Oregon, Canada and more are causing some havoc with summer in Great Falls and a good portion of Big Sky Country. Smoke has moved in, and not that I don't love a good campfire, I am tired of moving my chair to get out of it.

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Air quality in the Electric City hasn't been great, to say the least. As fires continue around us and even near us, the Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has issued alerts for several counties in the state, including Cascade.

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The Montana DEQ uses a four-tiered system to rank air quality. Air quality can range from good, moderate, respiratory sensitive and unhealthy categories. Currently, most of the state is under a moderate alert.

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And while there aren't any unhealthy rankings currently, the state does have some respiratory sensitive zones which include Great Falls, Billings, Hamilton, Malta and areas surrounding Helena, Montana.

New Alert for Several Montana Counties Until Mid-Week Winds Take Over

Air quality alerts have been made by the DEQ for over a dozen counties across the state. Those include:

Beaverhead, Blaine, Broadwater, Cascade, Chouteau, Deer Lodge, Fergus, Granite, Jefferson, Judith Basin, Lake, Lewis and Clark, Liberty, Meagher, Mineral, Missoula, Petroleum, Pondera, Powell, Ravalli, Sanders, Silver Bow, Teton, Toole, Phillips, and Hill Counties.

The new alerts are expected to expire mid-week, with hopeful winds from forecasters helping to disperse some of the smoke over a large portion of the state. To stay up to date on current air quality conditions, visit the DEQ website here.

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