As wildfire growth slows, Fairbanks North Star Borough looks at expanding clean air rooms next year

FAIRBANKS, Alaska (KTUU/KTVF) - As wildfire growth around the interior slows, smoke has dissipated from the Fairbanks North Star Borough (FNSB), making breathing a bit easier for all.

With improved air quality, borough leaders have closed the clean air room at the Noel Wien Library in Fairbanks, but they hope to expand those services next season.

Throughout the fire season, days of heavy smoke have dropped air quality to the second lowest rating in the air quality index, which is named “very unhealthy.”

During these times, the borough had opened a clean air room, providing the public with a space to escape the smoke and breathe in fresh air.

Now that the need for the space is gone, the borough hopes to expand those services to other locations.

Improving those services would mean “add[ing] more air purifiers to our resources so that we can place them in other parts of the borough like North Pole or out in other communities like in Goldstream or out in Fox, maybe closer to the fires,” explained Kaitlin Wilson, a public information officer for the borough.

While discussion to do just that are underway, the borough is limited by a lack of air purifiers for the time being, she said.

During July, 18 people used the clean air room at the library, Wilson said.

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