Wildfire smoke EPA monitor flag
Daily PM2.5 peaked at 118.4 µg/m³ near Philadelphia across 15 covered metros home to 44 million people. 2 metros recorded their worst day on record; 15 placed a top-ten day.
Counting the extra PM2.5 above each metro's typical day, this event handed the average affected resident ≈ 6.7 cigarettes. Across everyone living in the affected metros, that is the collective equivalent of ≈ 294 million cigarettes. An awareness illustration of outdoor exposure at 22 µg/m³ per cigarette (Berkeley Earth), counting only the event's ranked days; not a medical dose.
Why we think this happened
Qualified frozen evidence supports wildfire smoke as the broad root cause and supports grouping the contemporaneous affected events into one time-bounded episode. Qualified frozen evidence supports wildfire smoke as the broad root cause and supports grouping the contemporaneous affected events into one time-bo
EPA monitor flag EPA attached an exceptional-event qualifier to the affected samples. The agency flagged the measurement itself; no separate agency record describes the event.
U.S. EPA Air Quality System and the submitting air monitoring agency · Jul 6, 2002 official
EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted request-exclusion qualifier (E, Forest Fire.) on 1 PM2.5 sample in the candidate CBSA on 2002-07-06, identifying wildfire smoke as affecting the sample. A request-exclusion qualifier is an official submitting-agency causal claim, but this endpoint does not establish EPA concurrence.
U.S. EPA Air Quality System and the submitting air monitoring agency · Jul 8, 2002 official
EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted request-exclusion qualifier (E, Forest Fire.) on 1 PM2.5 sample in the candidate CBSA on 2002-07-08, identifying wildfire smoke as affecting the sample. A request-exclusion qualifier is an official submitting-agency causal claim, but this endpoint does not establish EPA concurrence.
U.S. EPA Air Quality System and the submitting air monitoring agency · Jul 6, 2002 official
EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted request-exclusion qualifier (E, Forest Fire.) on 2 PM2.5 samples in the candidate CBSA on 2002-07-06, identifying wildfire smoke as affecting the samples. A request-exclusion qualifier is an official submitting-agency causal claim, but this endpoint does not establish EPA concurrence.
See every retained source and limitation ↓
Sequence: Allentown (Jul 6) → Philadelphia (Jul 7) → Baltimore (Jul 7) → New York (Jul 7) → New Haven (Jul 7) → Bridgeport (Jul 7) → Harrisburg (Jul 7) → Providence (Jul 7) → Albany (Jul 7) → Worcester (Jul 7) → +5 more metros
Evidence path
A cause is more convincing when the record connects three things: something happened, the air mass moved toward the region, and local instruments responded. Here is how much of that chain is documented for this event.
Source or mechanism
EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted request-exclusion qualifier (E, Forest Fire.) on 1 PM2.5 sample in the candidate CBSA on 2002-07-06, identifying wildfire smoke as affecting the sample. A request-exclusion qualifier is an official…
View supporting source ↗Air-mass movement
NASA satellite observations on July 7 document Quebec wildfire smoke entering the United States near the New York and Vermont border and extending over the eastern United States.
View transport source ↗Local response
EPA monitors recorded the event across 15 metros. The peak daily concentration is roughly 5.4 cigarette-equivalents at the outdoor daily rate.
Inspect the pollutant and weather signals ↓Event autopsy
Before, during, and after the episode: nearby pollutant monitors and surface-weather stations show what changed. This context tests the “Wildfire smoke” explanation; it does not assign the cause by itself.
Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD
Monitor comparison window 2002-07-04 to 2002-07-11 · PM2.5 target: Edgewood
114% above nearby days
No adjacent-day comparison
114% higher than surrounding days
No adjacent-day comparison
160% higher than surrounding days
72% higher than surrounding days
About the same as surrounding days
About the same as surrounding days
5% higher than surrounding days
About the same as surrounding days
About the same as surrounding days
Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA
Monitor comparison window 2002-07-04 to 2002-07-11 · PM2.5 target: Harrisburg
171% above nearby days
165% higher than surrounding days
171% higher than surrounding days
165% higher than surrounding days
166% higher than surrounding days
46% higher than surrounding days
25% higher than surrounding days
35% higher than surrounding days
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD
Monitor comparison window 2002-07-04 to 2002-07-11 · PM2.5 target: New Garden
208% above nearby days
About the same as surrounding days
119% higher than surrounding days
208% higher than surrounding days
119% higher than surrounding days
77% higher than surrounding days
34% higher than surrounding days
103% higher than surrounding days
37% higher than surrounding days
About the same as surrounding days
About the same as surrounding days
About the same as surrounding days
About the same as surrounding days
Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ
Monitor comparison window 2002-07-03 to 2002-07-12 · PM2.5 target: Phillipsburg
75% above nearby days
62% higher than surrounding days
75% higher than surrounding days
62% higher than surrounding days
37% higher than surrounding days
26% higher than surrounding days
6% higher than surrounding days
About the same as surrounding days
Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY
Monitor comparison window 2002-07-03 to 2002-07-12 · PM2.5 target: LOUDONVILLE
368% above nearby days
9% lower than surrounding days
19% higher than surrounding days
368% higher than surrounding days
19% higher than surrounding days
63% higher than surrounding days
About the same as surrounding days
About the same as surrounding days
About the same as surrounding days
About the same as surrounding days
9% lower than surrounding days
Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT
Monitor comparison window 2002-07-03 to 2002-07-12
253% above nearby days
No adjacent-day comparison
253% higher than surrounding days
No adjacent-day comparison
40% higher than surrounding days
30% higher than surrounding days
65% higher than surrounding days
7% higher than surrounding days
About the same as surrounding days
About the same as surrounding days
Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT
Monitor comparison window 2002-07-03 to 2002-07-12
154% above nearby days
No adjacent-day comparison
154% higher than surrounding days
No adjacent-day comparison
26% higher than surrounding days
24% higher than surrounding days
42% higher than surrounding days
9% higher than surrounding days
About the same as surrounding days
About the same as surrounding days
About the same as surrounding days
New Haven-Milford, CT
Monitor comparison window 2002-07-03 to 2002-07-12
192% above nearby days
53% higher than surrounding days
192% higher than surrounding days
53% higher than surrounding days
60% higher than surrounding days
59% higher than surrounding days
21% higher than surrounding days
10% higher than surrounding days
About the same as surrounding days
About the same as surrounding days
About the same as surrounding days
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA
Monitor comparison window 2002-07-03 to 2002-07-12 · PM2.5 target: Elizabeth Lab
77% above nearby days
About the same as surrounding days
71% higher than surrounding days
77% higher than surrounding days
71% higher than surrounding days
26% higher than surrounding days
49% higher than surrounding days
59% higher than surrounding days
17% higher than surrounding days
About the same as surrounding days
About the same as surrounding days
About the same as surrounding days
About the same as surrounding days
Scranton--Wilkes-Barre--Hazleton, PA
Monitor comparison window 2002-07-03 to 2002-07-12 · PM2.5 target: Scranton
98% above nearby days
26% higher than surrounding days
98% higher than surrounding days
26% higher than surrounding days
124% higher than surrounding days
51% higher than surrounding days
42% higher than surrounding days
26% higher than surrounding days
Springfield, MA
Monitor comparison window 2002-07-03 to 2002-07-12 · PM2.5 target: LIBERTY ST PARKING LOT
82% above nearby days
No adjacent-day comparison
82% higher than surrounding days
No adjacent-day comparison
12% higher than surrounding days
37% higher than surrounding days
25% higher than surrounding days
15% higher than surrounding days
6% higher than surrounding days
About the same as surrounding days
About the same as surrounding days
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH
Monitor comparison window 2002-07-04 to 2002-07-10 · PM2.5 target: NORTH END SITE CENTRAL ARTERY
167% above nearby days
No adjacent-day comparison
167% higher than surrounding days
No adjacent-day comparison
88% higher than surrounding days
About the same as surrounding days
About the same as surrounding days
31% lower than surrounding days
11% higher than surrounding days
About the same as surrounding days
5% lower than surrounding days
Providence-Warwick, RI-MA
Monitor comparison window 2002-07-04 to 2002-07-10 · PM2.5 target: FRANCIS SCHOOL East Providence
136% above nearby days
No adjacent-day comparison
136% higher than surrounding days
No adjacent-day comparison
56% higher than surrounding days
37% higher than surrounding days
22% lower than surrounding days
21% lower than surrounding days
About the same as surrounding days
About the same as surrounding days
5% lower than surrounding days
Worcester, MA-CT
Monitor comparison window 2002-07-04 to 2002-07-10 · PM2.5 target: SITE LOCATED ON ROOF OF MCKAY SCHOOL
213% above nearby days
No adjacent-day comparison
213% higher than surrounding days
No adjacent-day comparison
42% higher than surrounding days
About the same as surrounding days
About the same as surrounding days
About the same as surrounding days
About the same as surrounding days
Syracuse, NY
Monitor comparison window 2002-07-04 to 2002-07-10 · PM2.5 target: EAST SYRACUSE
231% above nearby days
About the same as surrounding days
17% higher than surrounding days
231% higher than surrounding days
17% higher than surrounding days
24% higher than surrounding days
25% lower than surrounding days
About the same as surrounding days
About the same as surrounding days
About the same as surrounding days
About the same as surrounding days
Source: U.S. EPA AirData daily observations and, where available, nearby ASOS/AWOS surface observations. Values are descriptive medians over the retained monitor set; missing measurements remain missing. Transport and source evidence remain separate layers because this instrument pattern does not assign a cause by itself.
Air-mass reconstruction
NOAA HYSPLIT traces the air arriving at each metro backward for 72 hours. Multiple arrival times and heights show whether the broad path is stable—or sensitive to assumptions about when and where the polluted layer arrived.
Air arriving near Albany-Schenectady-Troy
Peak-date arrivals · 2002-07-07
Each line begins 72 hours before arrival and points toward the metro. Color represents arrival height; repeated lines represent 00, 06, 12, and 18 UTC arrival assumptions. A path can show where the air traveled, but it cannot prove which source added the PM2.5.
Air arriving near Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton
Peak-date arrivals · 2002-07-07
Each line begins 72 hours before arrival and points toward the metro. Color represents arrival height; repeated lines represent 00, 06, 12, and 18 UTC arrival assumptions. A path can show where the air traveled, but it cannot prove which source added the PM2.5.
Air arriving near Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk
Peak-date arrivals · 2002-07-07
Each line begins 72 hours before arrival and points toward the metro. Color represents arrival height; repeated lines represent 00, 06, 12, and 18 UTC arrival assumptions. A path can show where the air traveled, but it cannot prove which source added the PM2.5.
Air arriving near Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford
Peak-date arrivals · 2002-07-07
Each line begins 72 hours before arrival and points toward the metro. Color represents arrival height; repeated lines represent 00, 06, 12, and 18 UTC arrival assumptions. A path can show where the air traveled, but it cannot prove which source added the PM2.5.
Air arriving near New Haven-Milford
Peak-date arrivals · 2002-07-07
Each line begins 72 hours before arrival and points toward the metro. Color represents arrival height; repeated lines represent 00, 06, 12, and 18 UTC arrival assumptions. A path can show where the air traveled, but it cannot prove which source added the PM2.5.
Air arriving near New York-Newark-Jersey City
Peak-date arrivals · 2002-07-07
Each line begins 72 hours before arrival and points toward the metro. Color represents arrival height; repeated lines represent 00, 06, 12, and 18 UTC arrival assumptions. A path can show where the air traveled, but it cannot prove which source added the PM2.5.
Air arriving near Scranton--Wilkes-Barre--Hazleton
Peak-date arrivals · 2002-07-07
Each line begins 72 hours before arrival and points toward the metro. Color represents arrival height; repeated lines represent 00, 06, 12, and 18 UTC arrival assumptions. A path can show where the air traveled, but it cannot prove which source added the PM2.5.
Air arriving near Springfield
Peak-date arrivals · 2002-07-07
Each line begins 72 hours before arrival and points toward the metro. Color represents arrival height; repeated lines represent 00, 06, 12, and 18 UTC arrival assumptions. A path can show where the air traveled, but it cannot prove which source added the PM2.5.
Air arriving near Baltimore-Columbia-Towson
Peak-date arrivals · 2002-07-07
Each line begins 72 hours before arrival and points toward the metro. Color represents arrival height; repeated lines represent 00, 06, 12, and 18 UTC arrival assumptions. A path can show where the air traveled, but it cannot prove which source added the PM2.5.
Air arriving near Harrisburg-Carlisle
Peak-date arrivals · 2002-07-07
Each line begins 72 hours before arrival and points toward the metro. Color represents arrival height; repeated lines represent 00, 06, 12, and 18 UTC arrival assumptions. A path can show where the air traveled, but it cannot prove which source added the PM2.5.
Air arriving near Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington
Peak-date arrivals · 2002-07-08
Each line begins 72 hours before arrival and points toward the metro. Color represents arrival height; repeated lines represent 00, 06, 12, and 18 UTC arrival assumptions. A path can show where the air traveled, but it cannot prove which source added the PM2.5.
Air arriving near Syracuse
Peak-date arrivals · 2002-07-07
Each line begins 72 hours before arrival and points toward the metro. Color represents arrival height; repeated lines represent 00, 06, 12, and 18 UTC arrival assumptions. A path can show where the air traveled, but it cannot prove which source added the PM2.5.
Air arriving near Boston-Cambridge-Newton
Peak-date arrivals · 2002-07-07
Each line begins 72 hours before arrival and points toward the metro. Color represents arrival height; repeated lines represent 00, 06, 12, and 18 UTC arrival assumptions. A path can show where the air traveled, but it cannot prove which source added the PM2.5.
Air arriving near Providence-Warwick
Peak-date arrivals · 2002-07-07
Each line begins 72 hours before arrival and points toward the metro. Color represents arrival height; repeated lines represent 00, 06, 12, and 18 UTC arrival assumptions. A path can show where the air traveled, but it cannot prove which source added the PM2.5.
Air arriving near Worcester
Peak-date arrivals · 2002-07-07
Each line begins 72 hours before arrival and points toward the metro. Color represents arrival height; repeated lines represent 00, 06, 12, and 18 UTC arrival assumptions. A path can show where the air traveled, but it cannot prove which source added the PM2.5.
Episode peak
-- cigarettes
The smoke map's scale, replayed over this event: the surface interpolates between covered metros' daily records, framed to the affected region. Hover for a reading, click a metro to pin it to the card. Days a monitor did not report draw nothing.
Views from the selected metro
Select a metro on the map to see nearby cameras. Where an operator archive reaches the event, drag the divider to compare two moments, adjust either date and time, or play the available event-day frames. Camera imagery is visual context, not an air-quality measurement or proof of smoke.
No useful public camera views are currently available within 80 km of this metro.
| Metro | Peak PM2.5 | Cigarettes, whole event | Peak day | All-time standing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | 118.4 µg/m³ | 10.6 | Jul 8, 2002 | #5 of its top days |
| Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD | 89.5 µg/m³ | 6.7 | Jul 7, 2002 | #4 of its top days |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA | 86.8 µg/m³ | 9.1 | Jul 7, 2002 | #5 of its top days |
| Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ | 84.8 µg/m³ | 10.2 | Jul 7, 2002 | #4 of its top days |
| New Haven-Milford, CT | 83.4 µg/m³ | 6.5 | Jul 7, 2002 | #3 of its top days |
| Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT | 82.7 µg/m³ | 3.8 | Jul 7, 2002 | #4 of its top days |
| Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA | 82.7 µg/m³ | 6.8 | Jul 7, 2002 | #7 of its top days |
| Providence-Warwick, RI-MA | 77.1 µg/m³ | 6.2 | Jul 7, 2002 | Worst day on record |
| Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY | 76.8 µg/m³ | 3.5 | Jul 7, 2002 | #2 of its top days |
| Worcester, MA-CT | 76 µg/m³ | 5.6 | Jul 7, 2002 | Worst day on record |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | 68.9 µg/m³ | 5.6 | Jul 7, 2002 | #2 of its top days |
| Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT | 68.2 µg/m³ | 5.6 | Jul 7, 2002 | #3 of its top days |
| Springfield, MA | 67 µg/m³ | 5.4 | Jul 7, 2002 | #2 of its top days |
| Scranton--Wilkes-Barre--Hazleton, PA | 61.8 µg/m³ | 2.8 | Jul 7, 2002 | #9 of its top days |
| Syracuse, NY | 52.3 µg/m³ | 2.4 | Jul 7, 2002 | #6 of its top days |
"Cigarettes, whole event" totals a metro's ranked event days at 22 µg/m³ per cigarette: what a person outdoors there breathed across the event, as the illustration. "All-time standing" is where this episode's days sit in each metro's ranked record (worst-area measure, since 1999). Full local context is on each metro's Air Records page.
Public evidence library
Each card states what a source supports—and what it does not. Official records, research, reporting, community observations, and transparent inferences remain visibly different kinds of evidence.
AQS PM2.5 qualifier E — Forest Fire.
EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted request-exclusion qualifier (E, Forest Fire.) on 1 PM2.5 sample in the candidate CBSA on 2002-07-06, identifying wildfire smoke as affecting the sample. A request-exclusion qualifier is an official submitting-agency causal claim, but this endpoint does not establish EPA concurrence.
AQS PM2.5 qualifier E — Forest Fire.
EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted request-exclusion qualifier (E, Forest Fire.) on 1 PM2.5 sample in the candidate CBSA on 2002-07-08, identifying wildfire smoke as affecting the sample. A request-exclusion qualifier is an official submitting-agency causal claim, but this endpoint does not establish EPA concurrence.
AQS PM2.5 qualifier E — Forest Fire.
EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted request-exclusion qualifier (E, Forest Fire.) on 2 PM2.5 samples in the candidate CBSA on 2002-07-06, identifying wildfire smoke as affecting the samples. A request-exclusion qualifier is an official submitting-agency causal claim, but this endpoint does not establish EPA concurrence.
AQS PM2.5 qualifier E — Forest Fire.
EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted request-exclusion qualifier (E, Forest Fire.) on 7 PM2.5 samples in the candidate CBSA on 2002-07-07, identifying wildfire smoke as affecting the samples. A request-exclusion qualifier is an official submitting-agency causal claim, but this endpoint does not establish EPA concurrence.
AQS PM2.5 qualifier E — Forest Fire.
EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted request-exclusion qualifier (E, Forest Fire.) on 1 PM2.5 sample in the candidate CBSA on 2002-07-06, identifying wildfire smoke as affecting the sample. A request-exclusion qualifier is an official submitting-agency causal claim, but this endpoint does not establish EPA concurrence.
AQS PM2.5 qualifier E — Forest Fire.
EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted request-exclusion qualifier (E, Forest Fire.) on 4 PM2.5 samples in the candidate CBSA on 2002-07-07, identifying wildfire smoke as affecting the samples. A request-exclusion qualifier is an official submitting-agency causal claim, but this endpoint does not establish EPA concurrence.
AQS PM2.5 qualifier E — Forest Fire.
EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted request-exclusion qualifier (E, Forest Fire.) on 1 PM2.5 sample in the candidate CBSA on 2002-07-07, identifying wildfire smoke as affecting the sample. A request-exclusion qualifier is an official submitting-agency causal claim, but this endpoint does not establish EPA concurrence.
AQS PM2.5 qualifier E — Forest Fire.
EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted request-exclusion qualifier (E, Forest Fire.) on 2 PM2.5 samples in the candidate CBSA on 2002-07-08, identifying wildfire smoke as affecting the samples. A request-exclusion qualifier is an official submitting-agency causal claim, but this endpoint does not establish EPA concurrence.
AQS PM2.5 qualifier E — Forest Fire.
EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted request-exclusion qualifier (E, Forest Fire.) on 1 PM2.5 sample in the candidate CBSA on 2002-07-09, identifying wildfire smoke as affecting the sample. A request-exclusion qualifier is an official submitting-agency causal claim, but this endpoint does not establish EPA concurrence.
AQS PM2.5 qualifier E — Forest Fire.
EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted request-exclusion qualifier (E, Forest Fire.) on 1 PM2.5 sample in the candidate CBSA on 2002-07-08, identifying wildfire smoke as affecting the sample. A request-exclusion qualifier is an official submitting-agency causal claim, but this endpoint does not establish EPA concurrence.
AQS PM2.5 qualifier E — Forest Fire.
EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted request-exclusion qualifier (E, Forest Fire.) on 1 PM2.5 sample in the candidate CBSA on 2002-07-09, identifying wildfire smoke as affecting the sample. A request-exclusion qualifier is an official submitting-agency causal claim, but this endpoint does not establish EPA concurrence.
AQS PM2.5 qualifier E — Forest Fire.
EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted request-exclusion qualifier (E, Forest Fire.) on 1 PM2.5 sample in the candidate CBSA on 2002-07-08, identifying wildfire smoke as affecting the sample. A request-exclusion qualifier is an official submitting-agency causal claim, but this endpoint does not establish EPA concurrence.
AQS PM2.5 qualifier E — Forest Fire.
EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted request-exclusion qualifier (E, Forest Fire.) on 37 PM2.5 samples in the candidate CBSA on 2002-07-07, identifying wildfire smoke as affecting the samples. A request-exclusion qualifier is an official submitting-agency causal claim, but this endpoint does not establish EPA concurrence.
AQS PM2.5 qualifier E — Forest Fire.
EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted request-exclusion qualifier (E, Forest Fire.) on 2 PM2.5 samples in the candidate CBSA on 2002-07-07, identifying wildfire smoke as affecting the samples. A request-exclusion qualifier is an official submitting-agency causal claim, but this endpoint does not establish EPA concurrence.
AQS PM2.5 qualifier E — Forest Fire.
EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted request-exclusion qualifier (E, Forest Fire.) on 3 PM2.5 samples in the candidate CBSA on 2002-07-07, identifying wildfire smoke as affecting the samples. A request-exclusion qualifier is an official submitting-agency causal claim, but this endpoint does not establish EPA concurrence.
AQS PM2.5 qualifier E — Forest Fire.
EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted request-exclusion qualifier (E, Forest Fire.) on 1 PM2.5 sample in the candidate CBSA on 2002-07-06, identifying wildfire smoke as affecting the sample. A request-exclusion qualifier is an official submitting-agency causal claim, but this endpoint does not establish EPA concurrence.
AQS PM2.5 qualifier E — Forest Fire.
EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted request-exclusion qualifier (E, Forest Fire.) on 1 PM2.5 sample in the candidate CBSA on 2002-07-09, identifying wildfire smoke as affecting the sample. A request-exclusion qualifier is an official submitting-agency causal claim, but this endpoint does not establish EPA concurrence.
AQS PM2.5 qualifier E — Forest Fire.
EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted request-exclusion qualifier (E, Forest Fire.) on 7 PM2.5 samples in the candidate CBSA on 2002-07-07, identifying wildfire smoke as affecting the samples. A request-exclusion qualifier is an official submitting-agency causal claim, but this endpoint does not establish EPA concurrence.
AQS PM2.5 qualifier E — Forest Fire.
EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted request-exclusion qualifier (E, Forest Fire.) on 1 PM2.5 sample in the candidate CBSA on 2002-07-08, identifying wildfire smoke as affecting the sample. A request-exclusion qualifier is an official submitting-agency causal claim, but this endpoint does not establish EPA concurrence.
AQS PM2.5 qualifier E — Forest Fire.
EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted request-exclusion qualifier (E, Forest Fire.) on 2 PM2.5 samples in the candidate CBSA on 2002-07-07, identifying wildfire smoke as affecting the samples. A request-exclusion qualifier is an official submitting-agency causal claim, but this endpoint does not establish EPA concurrence.
AQS PM2.5 qualifier E — Forest Fire.
EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted request-exclusion qualifier (E, Forest Fire.) on 2 PM2.5 samples in the candidate CBSA on 2002-07-09, identifying wildfire smoke as affecting the samples. A request-exclusion qualifier is an official submitting-agency causal claim, but this endpoint does not establish EPA concurrence.
AQS PM2.5 qualifier E — Forest Fire.
EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted request-exclusion qualifier (E, Forest Fire.) on 2 PM2.5 samples in the candidate CBSA on 2002-07-06, identifying wildfire smoke as affecting the samples. A request-exclusion qualifier is an official submitting-agency causal claim, but this endpoint does not establish EPA concurrence.
AQS PM2.5 qualifier E — Forest Fire.
EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted request-exclusion qualifier (E, Forest Fire.) on 2 PM2.5 samples in the candidate CBSA on 2002-07-09, identifying wildfire smoke as affecting the samples. A request-exclusion qualifier is an official submitting-agency causal claim, but this endpoint does not establish EPA concurrence.
AQS PM2.5 qualifier E — Forest Fire.
EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted request-exclusion qualifier (E, Forest Fire.) on 2 PM2.5 samples in the candidate CBSA on 2002-07-06, identifying wildfire smoke as affecting the samples. A request-exclusion qualifier is an official submitting-agency causal claim, but this endpoint does not establish EPA concurrence.
AQS PM2.5 qualifier E — Forest Fire.
EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted request-exclusion qualifier (E, Forest Fire.) on 19 PM2.5 samples in the candidate CBSA on 2002-07-07, identifying wildfire smoke as affecting the samples. A request-exclusion qualifier is an official submitting-agency causal claim, but this endpoint does not establish EPA concurrence.
AQS PM2.5 qualifier E — Forest Fire.
EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted request-exclusion qualifier (E, Forest Fire.) on 1 PM2.5 sample in the candidate CBSA on 2002-07-07, identifying wildfire smoke as affecting the sample. A request-exclusion qualifier is an official submitting-agency causal claim, but this endpoint does not establish EPA concurrence.
AQS PM2.5 qualifier E — Forest Fire.
EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted request-exclusion qualifier (E, Forest Fire.) on 4 PM2.5 samples in the candidate CBSA on 2002-07-08, identifying wildfire smoke as affecting the samples. A request-exclusion qualifier is an official submitting-agency causal claim, but this endpoint does not establish EPA concurrence.
AQS PM2.5 qualifier E — Forest Fire.
EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted request-exclusion qualifier (E, Forest Fire.) on 13 PM2.5 samples in the candidate CBSA on 2002-07-07, identifying wildfire smoke as affecting the samples. A request-exclusion qualifier is an official submitting-agency causal claim, but this endpoint does not establish EPA concurrence.
AQS PM2.5 qualifier E — Forest Fire.
EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted request-exclusion qualifier (E, Forest Fire.) on 3 PM2.5 samples in the candidate CBSA on 2002-07-08, identifying wildfire smoke as affecting the samples. A request-exclusion qualifier is an official submitting-agency causal claim, but this endpoint does not establish EPA concurrence.
AQS PM2.5 qualifier E — Forest Fire.
EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted request-exclusion qualifier (E, Forest Fire.) on 2 PM2.5 samples in the candidate CBSA on 2002-07-08, identifying wildfire smoke as affecting the samples. A request-exclusion qualifier is an official submitting-agency causal claim, but this endpoint does not establish EPA concurrence.
AQS PM2.5 qualifier E — Forest Fire.
EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted request-exclusion qualifier (E, Forest Fire.) on 2 PM2.5 samples in the candidate CBSA on 2002-07-07, identifying wildfire smoke as affecting the samples. A request-exclusion qualifier is an official submitting-agency causal claim, but this endpoint does not establish EPA concurrence.
AQS PM2.5 qualifier E — Forest Fire.
EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted request-exclusion qualifier (E, Forest Fire.) on 14 PM2.5 samples in the candidate CBSA on 2002-07-07, identifying wildfire smoke as affecting the samples. A request-exclusion qualifier is an official submitting-agency causal claim, but this endpoint does not establish EPA concurrence.
AQS PM2.5 qualifier E — Forest Fire.
EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted request-exclusion qualifier (E, Forest Fire.) on 4 PM2.5 samples in the candidate CBSA on 2002-07-07, identifying wildfire smoke as affecting the samples. A request-exclusion qualifier is an official submitting-agency causal claim, but this endpoint does not establish EPA concurrence.
AQS PM2.5 qualifier E — Forest Fire.
EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted request-exclusion qualifier (E, Forest Fire.) on 8 PM2.5 samples in the candidate CBSA on 2002-07-07, identifying wildfire smoke as affecting the samples. A request-exclusion qualifier is an official submitting-agency causal claim, but this endpoint does not establish EPA concurrence.
Evaluation of the potential source contribution function using the 2002 Quebec forest fire episode
Using Philadelphia PM2.5 measurements and NOAA HYSPLIT trajectories, the study identifies the central Quebec forest-fire source and states that its influence began in the mid-Atlantic on July 6, 2002.
Impact of the 2002 Canadian Forest Fires on Particulate Matter Air Quality in Baltimore City
The scientific study reports that the Quebec fires caused a dramatic Baltimore PM2.5 increase, reaching 86 µg/m3 on July 7, 2002.
The indexed scientific record identifies July 2002 Quebec forest-fire wood smoke as causing substantial short-term PM2.5 elevation in Greater Boston.
Smoke from Canadian Fires Blankets Eastern U.S.
NASA satellite observations on July 7 document Quebec wildfire smoke entering the United States near the New York and Vermont border and extending over the eastern United States.
EPA monitor flag EPA attached an exceptional-event qualifier to the affected samples. The agency flagged the measurement itself; no separate agency record describes the event.
This episode was grouped from the monitor record by the catalog pipeline and given its cause from the evidence listed above. It has not been individually reviewed and signed off, so its boundaries, cause, and name may change as evidence accumulates. Grouping policy common_sense_root_cause_grouping.v2. The cause label reflects the assembled evidence above, not an IAQng detection formula. If it is wrong, tell us.