Lewis and Clark County Health Board Reviews Winter Air Quality Data

The Lewis and Clark City-County Board of Health gathered Thursday at 1930 9th Avenue in Helena to take up a winter air quality update that covered eight and a half months of data, from July 1, 2025, through March 19, 2026.

The update, included in the board's meeting packet published March 19, represents one of the more data-heavy items on the agenda. The period spans both the tail end of wildfire smoke season and the full stretch of winter months, when cold, still air tends to trap pollution close to the ground across the Helena Valley.

The Environmental Services Division of the health department monitors fine-particulate air pollution year-round in the Air Pollution Control District and also enforces local outdoor air-quality regulations adopted to protect residents by controlling emissions of fine particulate pollution, also known as PM2.5.

Exposure to fine particulates can harm human health, especially among individuals with existing lung diseases, and studies have linked fine-particulate pollution to an increase in hospital admissions and emergency room visits.

Harmful particulate from wildfires, secondhand smoke, and wood-burning stoves can cause lasting damage to respiratory health and result in chronic disease, with at-risk populations particularly vulnerable.

Helena has an air-quality program that uses monitoring equipment to determine whether air quality is good or bad, and the winter update presented to the board today draws on that continuous monitoring network. The Environmental Services office is located at the City-County Building, 316 North Park, Room 230, and can be reached at 406-447-8351.

The board meets monthly, except in November, at 1:00 PM, with meetings open in person or by Zoom. The March 26 session marks one of the board's final reviews of the heating season before spring conditions typically improve air quality across the valley.