Joint Action Group for the National Wildland Fire Weather Needs Assessment – A Perspective from the U.S. EPA

1. Thomas E Pierce NOAA/Atmospheric Sciences Modeling Division* *In partnership with the U.S. EPA, Office of Research and Development pierce.tom@epa.gov Presentation to the OFCM JAG/NWFWNA 20 April 2006 Joint Action Group for the National Wildland Fire Weather Needs Assessment – A Perspective from the U.S. EPA

2. JAG-NWFWNA – USEPA Perspective Mission of EPA … to protect human health and the environment Mission as it relates to wildland fire … working with partners (at the federal, tribal, state, and local level), characterize and mitigate the impacts of wildland fire on human health and the environment

3. JAG-NWFWNA – USEPA PerspectiveWhat decisions/processes require fire weather and climate information? Air quality management (past, present, & future): … the past Use historical scenarios to establish baseline assessments; need to characterize meteorology (for mesoscale met models) and wildland fire emissions (by location, time, chemical species, and amount). … the present Via the NOAA/EPA partnership, generate short-term air quality forecasts for the U.S. Focus is on ozone and fine particulates (PM2.5), both of which are affected by emissions from fires. Local and regional air quality management districts apply tools like BlueSky and AirPact to assess air quality impacts from fires. … the future Project fire behavior for future AQ assessments (10 -100 y); forecast effects of climate on fires; currently, climatology of fire frequency and behavior is the default assumption. (Note: Fire info may also be needed for ecosystem and clean water assessments.)

4. JAG-NWFWNA – USEPA PerspectiveWho are the primary users/stakeholders of fire weather information? Air quality managers/decision makers/general public: • Local and state air quality offices • Regional Planning Organizations (e.g., WRAP, LADCO) • Tribal bodies • EPA Regional Offices (Region IV, IX) • EPA Office of Air and Radiation (national rulemaking, climate change assessment) • EPA Office of Research and Development • Sensitive populations

5. JAG-NWFWNA – USEPA PerspectiveWhat functional areas are agency priorities? FA4-Modeling-Prediction-Data-Assimilation: need to characterize smoke emissions and transport FA2-Fire-Wx-Research-Development: need improved tools for smoke emissions and behavior need to assess impact of future climate on fire need improved boundary-layer flow modeling near fires FA5-Information-Dissemination-Technology: need better integration of air quality related tools/data need improved collaboration between agencies FA7-Decision-Support-User-Impacts: need improved assessment tools for air quality (to include probabilistically-based forecasts)

6. JAG-NWFWNA – USEPA PerspectiveAs related to the wildland fire weather “system”, what areas are best practices and what areas need work? Best practices: Timely availability of met data and met forecasts to drive atmospheric chemical models Daily availability of the NOAA/NESDIS HMS fire product Availability of event-specific fire info (e.g., 209 reports) Willingness of federal agencies, like USFS and NOAA, to share information and to collaborate on fire-related issues Needs work: Need for improved characterization of fire emissions and plume behavior Need for readily-available databases of event-specific fire emissions Need for better coordination of air quality modeling tools and related observational data of fire emissions and air quality impacts

7. JAG-NWFWNA – USEPA PerspectiveWhat specific question would EPA like to see addressed? What are the emissions and resulting air quality impacts from wildland fires in the past, present, and future? Disclaimer: The views expressed in this presentation do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) or the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).