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Raleigh researcher describes Buncombe County PurpleAir sensor network and wildfire smoke spikes
Summary
Kimberly Hornberger presented a year-long PurpleAir sensor deployment in Buncombe County, showing short-duration particle spikes tied to regional wildfires and describing operational hurdles such as power, Wi‑Fi and sensor swapping.
Kimberly Hornberger, who traveled from Raleigh to present, described a year-long effort to augment Buncombe County’s regulatory monitors with loaned PurpleAir sensors after Hurricane Aileen.
"It's we've thrown around a lot of titles to this project, and I just call it the triple air center partnership for today," Hornberger said as she outlined the sensor deployment and partnerships that made the program possible. She showed maps of sensor locations in Buncombe County and daily-average plots from Jan. 1 through Oct. 31 that tracked together but included short, pronounced spikes during wildfire events.
Hornberger pointed to the end of March wildfires and Canadian wildfires later in the spring as two periods when some sensors recorded very high short-term readings that were not always reflected in hourly or daily averages. "For 10 minutes, it could be very high and then go back, to a low end," she said, noting why dense networks help capture short-lived plumes.
She also outlined practical challenges: some loaned devices lacked reliable Wi‑Fi or power at deployment sites, and the team occasionally swapped units to maintain coverage. Hornberger said the EPA loan program facilitated rapid access to devices and that partners continue weekly coordination calls to manage the network and respond to public inquiries.
