{"id":1222,"date":"2019-04-22T20:29:25","date_gmt":"2019-04-22T20:29:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sites.cnr.ncsu.edu\/southeast-fire-update\/?page_id=1222"},"modified":"2026-04-15T20:27:37","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T20:27:37","slug":"smoke-management","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.cnr.ncsu.edu\/southeast-fire-update\/smoke-management\/","title":{"rendered":"Smoke Management"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Smoke management is an important consideration for those using prescribed fire. Properly managing smoke from prescribed fires serves many purposes, including protecting the health and safety of surrounding communities and shielding prescribed burners from liability. Smoke management by prescribed burners and coordination between agencies involved in prescribed fire and air quality also helps to preserve the use of prescribed fire as a land management tool in the South.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em><strong>Smoke Management Resources for Burners<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Some of the resources on this page were developed for the National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG) and people who conduct burning under these guidelines (which includes federal agencies, some state agencies and NGOs), however many of the recommendations are also applicable to non-NWCG burners. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The <a href=\"https:\/\/go.ncsu.edu\/smokeguide\">Smoke Management Guidebook for Prescribed Burning in the Southern Region<\/a> is a guidebook to help southeastern U.S. landowners understand elements of and techniques for smoke management for prescribed burning.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.frames.gov\/smoke\/home\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Emissions and Smoke Portal<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> website brings together information, documents, websites, and training materials on smoke management and air quality. The main topic areas include education, management, regulation, research, and information on the NWCG Smoke Committee.<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/smokeapp.serppas.org\/\">Prescribed Fire Smoke Management Pocket Guide<\/a> is a web mobile app that provides guidelines for smoke management, a fuel calculator, definitions of terms related to smoke management, and fact sheets and resources about smoke management.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nwcg.gov\/publications\/pms420-3\">NWCG Smoke Management Guide for Prescribed Fire <\/a>The NWCG Smoke Management Guide for Prescribed Fire contains information on prescribed fire smoke management techniques, air quality regulations, smoke monitoring, modeling, communication, public perception of prescribed fire and smoke, climate change, practical meteorological approaches and smoke tools. The Guide includes practical tools as well as explanations of the underlying science. Many chapters are helpful for addressing air quality impacts from wildfires.<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nwcg.gov\/publications\/training-courses\/rt-130\/hazards\/haz511\">Smoke, Roads, and Safety<\/a> is a 30-minute video developed by the NWCG on best practices for predicting and managing smoke over roadways.&nbsp;<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/southernfireexchange.org\/publications\/\">Southern Fire Exchange fact sheets<\/a> cover a variety of topics related to smoke management, air quality, and weather including basic smoke management practices, weather and smoke prediction and planning tools, and superfog. Southern Fire Exchange also provides <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/playlist?list=PLg38mXDqkgvPMSsmHwCEqfxyCIGp4boe_\">archived webinars<\/a> on many topics related to smoke management, air quality, and weather.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><em><strong>State Smoke Management Guidelines<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Many states have smoke management guidelines for prescribed burners. In some states, these guidelines must be followed for prescribed burners to be protected from liability under laws supporting the use prescribed fire. Even if your state does not provide online resources linked here, contact the agency that handles prescribed burning to be sure you know what smoke management guidelines you need to follow. That agency is linked below for states that do not have smoke management guidelines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Alabama <a href=\"https:\/\/www.frames.gov\/documents\/smoke\/programs-plans\/al-smoke-mgt-program-2001.pdf\">Smoke Management Program<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Arkansas <a href=\"https:\/\/media.ark.org\/agri\/Voluntary_Smoke_Management_Guidelines_for_Row_Crop_Farmers_051524.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Row Crop Farmers: Voluntary Smoke Management Guidelines &amp; Burning Checklist<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Arkansas <a href=\"https:\/\/www.agriculture.arkansas.gov\/forestry\/arkansas-voluntary-smoke-management-guidelines\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Forest Industry &amp; Landowners: Voluntary Smoke Management Guidelines<\/a> (2013)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Georgia <a href=\"https:\/\/epd.georgia.gov\/air\/sites\/epd.georgia.gov.air\/files\/related_files\/document\/SMPMOU.pdf\">Basic Smoke Management Plan<\/a> (2008)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Florida <a href=\"https:\/\/www.freshfromflorida.com\/content\/download\/35388\/831285\/Florida's_Certified_Smoke_Management_Plan_2014.pdf\">Certified Smoke Management Plan<\/a> (2014)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Kentucky <a href=\"https:\/\/eec.ky.gov\/Environmental-Protection\/Air\/Pages\/Open-Burning.aspx\">Energy and Environment Cabinet Open Burning<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Louisiana <a href=\"http:\/\/www.lsuagcenter.com\/NR\/rdonlyres\/EC7D865A-9BA3-4C5A-9BCC-F800DF664A71\/90040\/pup3246louisianasmokemanagementguidelinesforagricu.pdf\">Smoke Management Guidelines for Agriculture (2013)<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Louisiana <a href=\"http:\/\/www.lsuagcenter.com\/NR\/rdonlyres\/51533482-F73F-431D-B984-F4B651BC0A10\/89551\/pub3245louisianaagriculturalburningandsmokemanagem.pdf\">Agricultural Burning and Smoke Management Program (2012)<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Mississippi <a href=\"https:\/\/www.frames.gov\/documents\/smoke\/programs-plans\/ms-voluntary-smoke-mgt-guidelines-2012.pdf\">Voluntary Smoke Management Guidelines (2012)<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>North Carolina <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncforestservice.gov\/fire_control\/pdf\/SMP_REVISION_2020.pdf\">Smoke Management Guidelines (2020)<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Oklahoma <a href=\"https:\/\/www.deq.ok.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/air-division\/Smoke_Management_Plan_Oklahoma.pdf\">Smoke Management Plan<\/a> (2013)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>South Carolina <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scfc.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/smoke-management-guidelines.pdf\">Smoke Management Guidelines (2006)<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Texas A&amp;M Forest Service <a href=\"https:\/\/tfsweb.tamu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/TFS-SMP.pdf\">Smoke Management Plan (2018)<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Tennessee <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tn.gov\/tnwildlandfire\/prescribed-fire.html\">Division of Forestry Prescribed Fire<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Virginia <a href=\"https:\/\/dof.virginia.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/VA-Smoke-Management-Guidelines.pdf\">Smoke Management Guidelines (1998)<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>Air Quality Resources<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These resources provide a range of basic and technical information about air quality. Your <a href=\"http:\/\/www.4cleanair.org\/agencies\">state air quality agency<\/a> may be able to provide additional, localized information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.airnow.gov\">AIRNow<\/a> is a service of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that allows you to see the Air Quality Index (AQI) in your area of interest. AIRNow is also available on social media, email alerts, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.airnow.gov\/airnow-mobile-app\/\">a mobile phone app<\/a>. This 2 minute video from the Ashland Chamber of Commerce Business Education Series, <a href=\"https:\/\/vimeo.com\/257174563\">Smokey Skies and Your Health: The Air Quality Index<\/a>, provides a overview of the AQI.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/screening-tools.com\/epa-ejscreen\">EJSCREEN<\/a> is an environmental justice screening and mapping tool created by the EPA. EJSCREEN allows users to access high-resolution environmental and demographic information, including PM2.5, for locations in the United States, and compare their selected locations to the rest of the state, EPA region, or the nation.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.frames.gov\/smoke\/tutorial\/overview\">Smoke Management and Air Quality for Land Managers Online Tutorial<\/a> is a free, self-paced tutorial that covers the impacts of smoke, air quality regulations, smoke management techniques, and communication and collaboration in the context of air quality and smoke management.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www3.epa.gov\/airquality\/blackcarbon\/2012report\/fullreport.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The Report to Congress on Black Carbon (2012)<\/a> addresses sources, impacts, mitigation strategies and other issues surrounding PM2.5 emissions, including wildfires and prescribed burning.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The EPA strengthened Particulate Matter National Ambient Air Quality Standards in 2012, and provides <a href=\"https:\/\/www.epa.gov\/pm-pollution\/fact-sheets-and-additional-information-regarding-2012-particulate-matter-pm-national\">fact sheets and other documents<\/a> describing that action. Details are available <a href=\"https:\/\/www.epa.gov\/pm-pollution\/fact-sheets-and-additional-information-regarding-2012-particulate-matter-pm-national\">in an EPA fact sheet&nbsp;<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Does your area meet National Air Quality standards?\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>For&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.epa.gov\/particle-pollution-designations\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">PM2.5<\/a>?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>For&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.epa.gov\/ozone-designations\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ozone<\/a>?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><em><strong>Smoke &amp; Health Information<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The Southern Fire Exchange created <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=f1kI6HQOZbo\">this short video<\/a> to explain how smoke from wildfires burning in other regions should be taken seriously and how individuals can address smoke-related health concerns.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.epa.gov\/smoke-ready-toolbox-wildfires\">EPA&#8217;s Smoke-Ready Toolbox for Wildfires<\/a> contains an abundance of information about the health effects of smoke from wildfire. The related <a href=\"https:\/\/www.epa.gov\/air-sensor-toolbox\">Air Sensor Toolbox<\/a> provides resources on the performance, operation and use of air sensor monitoring systems for technology developers, air quality managers, citizen scientists and the public.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The National Environmental Health Association has conducted <a href=\"https:\/\/www.neha.org\/eh-topics\/air-quality-0\/air-quality-webinars\">several webinars related to air quality<\/a>, including one on &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/JrfIBuVKy5M\">US EPA\u2019s Wildfire Smoke Research, Toolbox and Other Resources<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The Southern Fire Exchange&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/southernfireexchange.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018-2.pdf\">fact sheet on public health effects of smoke<\/a> summarizes the progress of research surrounding the topic.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The Northern Rockies Fire Science Network&#8217;s website <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nrfirescience.org\/event\/smoke-exposure-health-effects-and-mitigations-wildland-fire-personnel-current-research-and\">provides a webinar recording<\/a> on the health effects of smoke exposure for wildland fire professionals.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>This <a href=\"https:\/\/www.airnow.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/2020-02\/the-right-respirator-and%20proper-fit-508.pdf\">infographic<\/a> from EPA depicts the proper way to wear a respirator.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>This Centers for Disease Control &amp; Prevention (CDC) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/wildfires\/safety\/how-to-safely-stay-safe-during-a-wildfire.html\">Wildfire Smoke website<\/a> provides information on what wildfire smoke is, if it can make you sick, and eight tips for protecting yourself from breathing wildfire smoke.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The Fire Adapted Communities Learning Network (FAC Net) has a recorded webinar on <a href=\"https:\/\/fireadaptednetwork.org\/resource\/resident-hepa-filter-programs-community-solutions-for-creating-clean-air\/\">Resident HEPA Filter Programs Community Solutions for Creating Clean Air<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Be aware that much of the information and research on the health effects of smoke, particularly resources for the public, is based on smoke from wildfires. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2073-4433\/9\/5\/185\">Smoke exposure research from California<\/a> has found that different methods used to measure smoke exposure from wildfires and prescribed fires make it difficult to compare the two. There is a need for additional research in this area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em><strong>Weather Tools<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The tools below are just some of those available that can be used to monitor a range of weather conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/firecenter.umt.edu\/weather-app\/default.php\">FireCenter Wx app<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/climate.ncsu.edu\/fwip\/\">Fire Weather Intelligence Portal website<\/a> (project of the State Climate Office of North Carolina)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/myradar.com\/\">MyRadar weather app<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/ninjastorm.firelab.org\/windninja\/\">WindNinja computer program and app<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><em><strong>Smoke Tools<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As&nbsp; with weather tools, the tools below are just some of those available that can be used to plan smoke management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ready.noaa.gov\/HYSPLIT.php\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">HYSPLIT<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><a href=\"https:\/\/sites.google.com\/firenet.gov\/wfaqrp-airfire-tools\/\">Pacific NW Research Station Wildland Fire Tools (BlueSky and other tools)<\/a> <\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><a href=\"http:\/\/fireweather.fdacs.gov\/Simple-Smoke\/\">Simple Smoke Model<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><a href=\"https:\/\/weather.gfc.state.ga.us\/GoogleVsmoke\/vsmoke-Good2.html\">VSmoke-Web<\/a>&nbsp;<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.weather.gov\/wrh\/hazards\">National Weather Service Weather and Hazards Data Viewer<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.arl.noaa.gov\/hysplit\/smoke-forecasting\/\">NOAA Smoke Forecast<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hdwindex.org\/index.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Hot-Dry-Windy Index<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><em><strong>Miscellaneous<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The Oregon Health Authority provides<a href=\"https:\/\/www.oregon.gov\/oha\/ph\/preparedness\/prepare\/pages\/prepareforwildfire.aspx\"> wildfire and smoke resources in multiple languages<\/a>. These resources may be useful for the Southeast during wildfires, and may be useful in adapting prescribed fire resources into non-English languages.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Southern Fire Exchange <a href=\"https:\/\/southernfireexchange.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/10Min_06.pdf\">10 Minutes with Gary Curcio<\/a>.<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">For smoke management and air quality terms, consult the <a href=\"http:\/\/smokeapp.serppas.org\/smokepedia.html\">Smokepedia<\/a><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. &nbsp;&nbsp;<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>See something missing? Please let us know! Contact us at <a href=\"mailto:jlevans3@ncsu.edu\">jlevans3@ncsu.edu<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Smoke management is an important consideration for those using prescribed fire. Properly managing smoke from prescribed fires serves many purposes, including protecting the health and safety of surrounding communities and shielding prescribed burners from liability. Smoke management by prescribed burners and coordination between agencies involved in prescribed fire and air quality also helps to preserve&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":68,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"ncst_dynamicHeaderBlockName":"ncst\/default-header","ncst_dynamicHeaderData":"{}","ncst_content_audit_freq":"","ncst_content_audit_date":"","ncst_content_audit_display":false,"ncst_backToTopFlag":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1222","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.cnr.ncsu.edu\/southeast-fire-update\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1222","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.cnr.ncsu.edu\/southeast-fire-update\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.cnr.ncsu.edu\/southeast-fire-update\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.cnr.ncsu.edu\/southeast-fire-update\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/68"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.cnr.ncsu.edu\/southeast-fire-update\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1222"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/sites.cnr.ncsu.edu\/southeast-fire-update\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1222\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2711,"href":"https:\/\/sites.cnr.ncsu.edu\/southeast-fire-update\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1222\/revisions\/2711"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.cnr.ncsu.edu\/southeast-fire-update\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1222"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}