Great Falls folks stir with slightly better air

Some Great Falls folks were out and doing things Sunday afternoon, benefiting from the previous night’s rain, although in smaller numbers and somewhat cautiously because air quality conditions were still not great.

A drive east on the recreation-intense River Drive at 1 p.m. found no horse shoe pitchers, a few skateboarders and a smattering of vehicles at the Pacific Steel & Recycling Trailside Dog Park and River’s Edge Trail parking lots. But there were fairly sizable numbers of folks golfing at the Eagle Falls Golf Club and watching the Great Falls Voyagers minor league baseball team.

“Things were a little better today because of yesterday’s rain,” said Cookie McMahon, walking her shih-poodle, Madi. “But it was still hard to see Gore Hill from 10th Avenue South.”

“I walk my dog every day in the dog park, but we’ve cut our walks shorter the last few days with all this smoke,” she said. “It irritates my eyes and makes Madi sneeze.

“I’m tire of breathing that burnt wood smell,” she added.

Saturday night’s cold front brought some rain and cooled temperatures about 10 degrees in much of western and central Montana, improving visibility in much of central Montana, said National Weather Service meteorologist John Blink.

Most of the towns east of the Rocky Mountains returned to normal visibility of about 10 miles, he said, but the Great Falls visibility improved less, from two miles a few days ago to five miles early Sunday afternoon. It appeared Great Falls was getting smoke primarily from fires in central Idaho rather than closer fires near Heart Butte, Essex and Augusta, he said.

The Montana Department of Air Quality’s wildfire air quality smoke report showed the late-afternoon Saturday rain in Great Falls, recorded at about 0.02 inches, temporarily improved immediate air quality in Great Falls to “good.” But by 4 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday, Great Falls was rated an orange, “unhealthy for sensitive groups.” And for a 24-hour period Great Falls was rated red, or “unhealthy,” as was Helena.

Sunday was fairly busy as usual at the Eagles Falls golf course, said assistant supervisor Ron Ehnes, but he’s seen signs that the near continuous haze and smoke recently is bothering some folks.

“Our play hasn’t dropped off much, although we’ve had a few regulars with asthma or other breathing ailments stop playing the last couple of weeks,” he said. “Power cart rentals are up and fewer players are walking.”

“Even some of our cart golfers say they can feel the effect of the smoke after playing 18 holes in the smoke. They tell me they’re coughing, with that campfire taste in their mouth. Some are quitting after their first nine rather than playing 18 holes,” he added.

Businessman Eric Tronson, who was hitting irons on the practice range, said he skipped golf on Thursday because of the smoke, but played 27 holes on Friday.

“The smoky conditions don’t affect me a lot, but my wife Andy gets congested and she’s kept our two small kids from playing outside,” he said.

KRTV executive Nancy Dolfman was watching a Great Falls Voyagers game at Centene Stadium with her children and some out-of-state relatives.

She said she has curtailed her favorite exercise, riding bikes with her kids, because of the smoke, but watching baseball is more passive.

Even so, Dolfman said the family hasn’t used its season tickets as much recently because of the hazy conditions.

“The rain storm last night cleared things out some,” she said. “It’s not that bad today.”

“Montanans learn to deal with weather and soldier on, whether snow in winter or smoke from fires in late summer,” Voyagers General Manager Scott Reasoner said.

Attendance hasn’t tapered off much, except during a couple of particularly smoky days last week, he said, adding that most Voyagers games are at night, when conditions usually improve.

The Voyagers did have to postpone a campout that had planned for Friday night at the stadium for the Boys Scouts and Girls Scouts, he said. And the team’s strength and conditioning coach has had Voyager players do more conditioning in the stadium’s indoor training facility, although they still do full batting and field practices each day outside.