TOPEKA (KSNT) – The Kansas Department of Health and Environment will activate its Kansas smoke modeling tool starting next month.
Jill Bronaugh with the KDHE said that starting on Sunday, March 1, the public can start tracking potential smoke and air quality impacts on downwind areas of future prescribed burns. March and April are typically when areas of the state’s rangelands are burned for prescribed fires across the Flint Hills.
The website uses fire data and current weather conditions to help predict where and how much smoke and air quality is impacted in certain areas of Kansas. The website itself shows a map where the public can check parts of counties that see major contribution from fires, including Lyon, Osage, Riley, Wabaunsee, Geary and Riley counties.
Nearly 2.1 million acres are burned on average annually in the Flint Hills of Kansas and Oklahoma, according to the KDHE.
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“We are entering the 16th year that we have been able to provide this important tool for the prescribed fire community,” Meteorologist and KDHE Bureau of Air Douglas Watson said in a press release. “We continue to encourage ranchers and land managers to utilize smoke modeling resources, such as the smoke modeling tool to mitigate potential air quality impacts.”
Common health problems that can occur from breathing particulate matter and pollutants from prescribed fires include burning eyes, runny noses, coughing and illnesses such as bronchitis. Children and older adults along with individuals who have pre-existing health conditions are vulnerable to experiencing these symptoms.
The public is encouraged to protect their health by remaining indoors, closing doors and windows, staying hydrated and contacting their doctors if they experience any of the above fire and smoke-related symptoms. You can access the Kansas smoke modeling online tool by clicking here. For more information about the prescribed burning, you can click here.
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