Dr. Amber Ortega, AKA Dr. Smoke. A conversation about wildfire smoke with the leading air quality meteorologist, wildland fire smoke specialist, and atmospheric chemist.

The Hotshot Wake Up

On Today's Show: https://thehotshotwakeup.substack.com/

Dr. Amber Ortega is an air quality meteorologist, wildland fire smoke specialist, and atmospheric chemist with nearly two decades of experience researching, forecasting, and managing smoke. She serves as the Regional Smoke Coordinator at both the Rocky Mountain and Pacific Northwest & Alaska Forest Service Regional Offices. Driven by a desire to bridge the gap between researchers, regulators, and field operations, Amber aims to enhance fire personnel support, improve smoke fluency, and facilitate harmonious relationships with fire practitioners, air quality, and public health agencies. She's an Air Resource Advisor, aka Smoke Specialists that are dispatched to incidents to support Incident Command Teams with smoke concerns.

Previously, she was the Duty Officer for the Smoke Monitoring Program at the Rocky Mountain National Fire Cache, part of the Interagency Wildland Fire Air Quality Response Program. She served as a prescribed fire smoke manager and air quality meteorologist for the State of Colorado. Prior to civil service, as a Department of Energy Office of Science Fellow, she investigated the intersection of fire, weather, and air quality, focusing on smoke emissions from deferring fuel types and their interactions with the environment.

Her research spans ground- and aircraft-based smoke measurements across notable locations, including USDA Missoula Fire Sciences Lab and Manitou Experimental Forest Observatory, UC-Berkeley Blodgett Forest Research Station, NASA Airborne Science DC-8 Laboratory, and US Naval Research Laboratory Scientific Development Squadron. She holds an MS/BS in Meteorology (Penn State), a Ph.D. in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences with a Specialization in Analytical Chemistry (CU-Boulder), and a PostDoc in Chemical Engineering (Uni Arizona), earning her the apropos title "Dr. Smoke."

A fantastic conversation.