Wildfire smoke EPA monitor flag
Named sources South One Fire Evans Road Fire 40,704 acres , NC · ICS-209-PLUS NC-NCS-08-048-065
Daily PM2.5 peaked at 99 µg/m³ near Raleigh across 6 covered metros home to 12 million people. 3 metros recorded their worst day on record; 5 placed a top-ten day.
Counting the extra PM2.5 above each metro's typical day, this event handed the average affected resident ≈ 4.3 cigarettes. Across everyone living in the affected metros, that is the collective equivalent of ≈ 51 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 · Jun 10, 2008 official
EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted request-exclusion qualifier (RT, Wildfire-U. S.) on 1 PM2.5 sample in the candidate CBSA on 2008-06-10, 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 · Jun 12, 2008 official
EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted request-exclusion qualifier (RT, Wildfire-U. S.) on 1 PM2.5 sample in the candidate CBSA on 2008-06-12, 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 · Jun 12, 2008 official
EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted informational qualifier (IT, Wildfire-U. S.) on 24 PM2.5 samples in the candidate CBSA on 2008-06-12, identifying wildfire smoke as affecting the samples. An informational qualifier is an official submitting-agency flag, not a request for exclusion or an EPA-concurred determination.
See every retained source and limitation ↓
Sequence: Virginia Beach (Jun 10) → Raleigh (Jun 12) → Durham (Jun 12) → Greensboro (Jun 13) → Winston (Jun 13) → Washington (Jun 14)
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 (RT, Wildfire-U. S.) on 1 PM2.5 sample in the candidate CBSA on 2008-06-10, identifying wildfire smoke as affecting the sample. A request-exclusion qualifier is an official…
View supporting source ↗Air-mass movement
NASA documented thick smoke from the Evans Road Fire in North Carolina and South One Fire in the Great Dismal Swamp traveling up the East Coast in mid-June and affecting air quality in numerous cities and towns.
View transport source ↗Local response
EPA monitors recorded the event across 6 metros. The peak daily concentration is roughly 4.5 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.
Durham-Chapel Hill, NC
Monitor comparison window 2008-06-09 to 2008-06-16 · PM2.5 target: Pittsboro
210% above nearby days
85% higher than surrounding days
210% higher than surrounding days
85% higher than surrounding days
About the same as surrounding days
13% higher than surrounding days
Raleigh, NC
Monitor comparison window 2008-06-09 to 2008-06-16 · PM2.5 target: Millbrook School
340% above nearby days
15% lower than surrounding days
130% higher than surrounding days
340% higher than surrounding days
130% higher than surrounding days
195% higher than surrounding days
13% lower than surrounding days
16% higher than surrounding days
About the same as surrounding days
About the same as surrounding days
15% lower than surrounding days
Greensboro-High Point, NC
Monitor comparison window 2008-06-09 to 2008-06-16 · PM2.5 target: Mendenhall School
156% above nearby days
17% lower than surrounding days
156% higher than surrounding days
16% lower than surrounding days
10% higher than surrounding days
About the same as surrounding days
17% lower than surrounding days
Winston-Salem, NC
Monitor comparison window 2008-06-09 to 2008-06-16 · PM2.5 target: Hattie Avenue
117% above nearby days
9% higher than surrounding days
123% higher than surrounding days
117% higher than surrounding days
123% higher than surrounding days
92% higher than surrounding days
7% lower than surrounding days
9% lower than surrounding days
About the same as surrounding days
About the same as surrounding days
About the same as surrounding days
9% higher than surrounding days
Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC
Monitor comparison window 2008-06-11 to 2008-06-17 · PM2.5 target: DEQ Tidewater Regional Office
307% above nearby days
195% higher than surrounding days
307% higher than surrounding days
195% higher than surrounding days
31% lower than surrounding days
About the same as surrounding days
About the same as surrounding days
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV
Monitor comparison window 2008-06-11 to 2008-06-17 · PM2.5 target: Broad Run High School, Ashburn
110% above nearby days
24% lower than surrounding days
70% higher than surrounding days
110% higher than surrounding days
70% higher than surrounding days
10% lower than surrounding days
26% 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
24% lower than 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.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raleigh, NC | 99 µg/m³ | 4.5 | Jun 12, 2008 | Worst day on record |
| Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC | 85.7 µg/m³ | 16.5 | Jun 14, 2008 | #2 of its top days |
| Durham-Chapel Hill, NC | 71.7 µg/m³ | 3.3 | Jun 12, 2008 | Worst day on record |
| Greensboro-High Point, NC | 68.6 µg/m³ | 3.1 | Jun 13, 2008 | Worst day on record |
| Winston-Salem, NC | 60.8 µg/m³ | 2.8 | Jun 13, 2008 | #2 of its top days |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | 57 µg/m³ | 2.6 | Jun 14, 2008 | #16 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 RT — Wildfire-U. S.
EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted request-exclusion qualifier (RT, Wildfire-U. S.) on 1 PM2.5 sample in the candidate CBSA on 2008-06-10, 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 RT — Wildfire-U. S.
EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted request-exclusion qualifier (RT, Wildfire-U. S.) on 1 PM2.5 sample in the candidate CBSA on 2008-06-12, 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 IT — Wildfire-U. S.
EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted informational qualifier (IT, Wildfire-U. S.) on 24 PM2.5 samples in the candidate CBSA on 2008-06-12, identifying wildfire smoke as affecting the samples. An informational qualifier is an official submitting-agency flag, not a request for exclusion or an EPA-concurred determination.
AQS PM2.5 qualifier RT — Wildfire-U. S.
EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted request-exclusion qualifier (RT, Wildfire-U. S.) on 1 PM2.5 sample in the candidate CBSA on 2008-06-12, 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 IT — Wildfire-U. S.
EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted informational qualifier (IT, Wildfire-U. S.) on 8 PM2.5 samples in the candidate CBSA on 2008-06-13, identifying wildfire smoke as affecting the samples. An informational qualifier is an official submitting-agency flag, not a request for exclusion or an EPA-concurred determination.
AQS PM2.5 qualifier RT — Wildfire-U. S.
EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted request-exclusion qualifier (RT, Wildfire-U. S.) on 1 PM2.5 sample in the candidate CBSA on 2008-06-13, 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 2008-06-12, 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 RT — Wildfire-U. S.
EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted request-exclusion qualifier (RT, Wildfire-U. S.) on 3 PM2.5 samples in the candidate CBSA on 2008-06-14, 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 RT — Wildfire-U. S.
EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted request-exclusion qualifier (RT, Wildfire-U. S.) on 2 PM2.5 samples in the candidate CBSA on 2008-06-14, 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 RT — Wildfire-U. S.
EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted request-exclusion qualifier (RT, Wildfire-U. S.) on 3 PM2.5 samples in the candidate CBSA on 2008-06-17, 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 RT — Wildfire-U. S.
EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted request-exclusion qualifier (RT, Wildfire-U. S.) on 3 PM2.5 samples in the candidate CBSA on 2008-06-20, 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 RT — Wildfire-U. S.
EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted request-exclusion qualifier (RT, Wildfire-U. S.) on 1 PM2.5 sample in the candidate CBSA on 2008-06-21, 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 RT — Wildfire-U. S.
EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted request-exclusion qualifier (RT, Wildfire-U. S.) on 4 PM2.5 samples in the candidate CBSA on 2008-06-23, 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.
N.C. Exceptional Event (June, 2008)
NCDEQ's exceptional-event demonstration identifies the June 12–13 Raleigh/Durham PM2.5 impact as smoke from the Evans Road Fire and estimates smoke contributed at least 62% of particulate mass at the Durham study site.
Fires in Virginia, North Carolina
NASA documented thick smoke from the Evans Road Fire in North Carolina and South One Fire in the Great Dismal Swamp traveling up the East Coast in mid-June and affecting air quality in numerous cities and towns.
Wildfire smoke, odor reach Triangle
Contemporaneous reporting said a wind shift could carry smoke from the eastern North Carolina Evans Road wildfire to Raleigh, Durham, and Greensboro.
Regional exceptional-events material discusses the June 2008 fire-smoke episode and includes historical Virginia Beach PM2.5 data, supporting treatment as part of a broader regional episode.
Forests and Rangelands Success Story: Great Dismal Swamp Firefighting
Government fire documentation reports that the South One Fire ignited June 9 and that smoke lingered over the fire and surrounding communities for many weeks; it does not attribute this specific Virginia Beach PM2.5 observation.
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.