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County reports temporary PurpleAir and EBAM monitors show mostly low concentrations with short spikes
Summary
Staff reported deployment of several temporary PurpleAir and EBAM monitors to track smoke from debris burning; they noted communications issues with state EVANS units and said hourly spikes observed were usually temporary and would likely average lower on 24-hour plots.
Steve presented a monitoring update showing the agency deployed temporary PurpleAir sensors and loaned EBAM monitors to supplement the EVANS network, which has experienced communications problems. He said the temporary sensors help detect localized, short-term spikes likely related to smoke from debris burning.
"We deployed, several launchers, in anticipation of burning that's gonna be taking place of storm debris," Steve said, adding some purple air locations showed a few high one-hour peaks while 24-hour averages remained low. He cautioned that the PurpleAir and EBAMs are not regulatory monitors but useful for situational awareness and public information. Staff said they can relocate loaned EBAMs if higher loads are detected in particular neighborhoods.
Steve also updated 2024 data completeness numbers: ozone completeness at 95% with a design value for the 2021–2024 period reported as 0.60, and BAM PM2.5 completeness at about 95.62% with a design value near 6.1 (pending final validation). The board commended the breadth of temporary monitoring coverage and asked staff to continue sharing data publicly.
