Smoky conditions in Glacier National Park in northern Montana have prompted the concessionaire to close the Lake McDonald Lodge a month early due to air quality concerns.
While the Sprague Fire about two miles east of the lodge hasn't been burning vigorously and is not considered a threat to the lodge, smoke from it and other fires in the region prompted the decision to close the lodge Wednesday.
Out of concern for employee safety, Glacier National Park Lodges closed overnight accommodations, retail, and food and beverage services at the Lake McDonald Lodge area, a park release said. Because employees work and live onsite they have a longer duration exposure to the air conditions than do overnight guests, it added.
The lodge was expected to close September 27 for the season. Visitors with reservations for Lake McDonald Lodge were told to contact Glacier National Park Lodges online or by calling 1-855-733-4522.
No other visitor services in the Lake McDonald area were being adjusted. Red bus tours that typically stop at Lake McDonald Lodge will have their routes adjusted slightly.
At the request of the National Park Service, the U.S. Forest Service installed an air quality monitoring station at Lake McDonald Lodge on August 27. Two days of data indicate air quality levels have fluctuated between “good” and beyond the uppermost limit of “hazardous.” The hazardous air quality readings have occurred in the evening and earlier morning hours.
The park maintains an air quality monitoring station in Apgar. Those readings have fluctuated between “good” and “moderate” for the same period, further supporting the observation that poor air quality appears to be concentrated in a very small geographic area of the park near the Lake McDonald Lodge area.
Visitors can view the park’s webcams to get a visual sense of air quality at many locations across the park. Fire officials expect the Sprague Fire will continue to burn until the area receives significant precipitation later this fall.
Glacier National Park is over one million acres in size. The smoke impacts from the Sprague Fire and other regional fires affect only a small portion of the park. All other frontcountry park facilities are open.
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