During the late summer/early Fall, the Methow Valley can experience days of varying air quality due to the surrounding forest fires that occur during this time of year. Day-day, the air quality in the valley can vary from “good” to “unhealthy” within a matter of hours. Methow Valley Schools strive to monitor the air quality on an hourly basis during wildfire seasons and follow the guidelines to ensure healthy levels of activity during times of poor air quality.

In addition, the air quality inside the school buildings is also monitored and actively filtered through a combination of centralized forced air systems and free standing HEPA air cleaning filters.

For additional detailed information, please review the follow document MVSD Air Quality and Student Health 2022-2023 [pdf] lays out these procedures and offers insight into how and why they were adopted, as well as providing information regarding steps taken by MVSD to improve indoor air quality during periods when wildfire smoke is an issue.

Would you like to know how to be ready for “smoke season” in the Methow Valley? Use this Smoke Ready Checklist [pdf], so that you are prepared to protect the health and safety of yourself and your community when the air quality is at unhealthy levels. To follow the smoke report of the Methow Valley, visit Clean Air Methow.

Vehicle exhaust, woodstove emissions, industrial emissions, wildfire smoke, windblown dust, and other sources contain fine particle pollution (PM2.5) that can seriously affect children’s health. The following public health recommendations to protect children from PM2.5 are designed for school activities and can be applied to child care, before/after school programs, camp, and sports programs for children (18 years and younger) by considering the duration of outdoor activities. Visit Washington Air Quality Guide for School and Child Care Activities for guidelines.