It's gotten cold out there!  Autumn is finally here and with that comes cooler weather and the need to heat homes.  Residential wood smoke from home-heating should be expected, especially at night and in the mornings when woodstoves and other wood-burning devices are regularly used.  Temperature inversions and light winds can cause smoke to stagnate, especially in valley communities.  This blog is intended to focus on wildfire smoke, but the forecast map will update with any smoke forecasts issued by Local Clean Air Agencies.  As the season progresses, the N ..read more

Recent rainfall and cooler temperatures limit smoke production on active wildfires It certainly appears that wildfire season in Washington is winding down! A series of two cold fronts swept across the state on Monday and Tuesday, with the latter bringing cooler temperatures and rainfall to most areas of the state. As the westerly winds picked up ahead of the cold front on Tuesday, some individuals reported smelling smoke in the Seattle/Everett/Mt. Vernon corridor. This was likely a result of the still-smoldering fires in the Olympic Mountains, but air quality remained Good at all locations!&nb ..read more

 The majority of the state continues to experience good air quality and low fire danger. A very clear satellite image from this morning--only the smoke plumes from the Airplane Lake Fire and agricultural burning in SE WA are visible, as well as smoke in Oregon): The Airplane Lake Fire continues to cause intermittent smoke impacts around the Lake Wenatchee area and into the Wenatchee Valley, impacting the communities of Leavenworth, Cashmere, and Wenatchee. These intermittent smoke impacts will continue until the next significant precipitation event. There is potential for light smoke im ..read more

Satellite imagery shows the remnant wildfire smoke haze dispersing this morning, but some fires are still producing visible smoke plumes.  We also expect easterly winds over the next few days and a Red Flag Warning is in effect for the West Cascade slopes of Lewis, Pierce, and King county due to dry and windy conditions.  With the expected wind shift, a moderate amount of BC smoke is expected to drift down into the Puget Sound region this weekend.  No Air Quality Alerts are planned at this time, but Moderate to USG smoke will likely impact northern counties for a couple days. Re ..read more

Over the weekend, nearly every part of the state experienced smoke impacts, with many air quality monitors observing unhealthy or worse conditions. Sunday's satellite image shows the swath of smoke across the state: 20 Aug 2023 19:01Z - NOAA/NESDIS/STAR GOES-West Easterly winds plus smoke from both local and Canadian fires led to the poor air quality we observed over the weekend. Two fires in the Spokane area (Gray Fire and Oregon Road Fire) led to hazardous air quality in Spokane. Outlook: Western WA We're already seeing improvements in western Washington with the arrival of westerl ..read more

Spokane County is under a State of Emergency due to two large fires that have each burned approximately 10,000 acres: the Oregon Road Fire near Elk and the Gray Fire in Medical Lake.  Many homes and structures have been lost and the fires are still very active.  Spokane Emergency Management has information on evacuations and other important notices.  Evacuation Shelters are available at Riverside High School and Spokane Falls Community College. Current air quality is very unhealthy to hazardous due to both local and regional fires.  Continued fire a ..read more

Recently a westerly wind pattern has been blowing wildfire smoke to the east and keeping it out of Western Washington.  However, winds will shift overnight tonight to easterly – funneling smoke from fires in the Cascades and southern British Columbia into the Puget Sound region.  All of Western Washington may be impacted – with the possible exception of the Olympics/coast. Forecasted Unhealthy air quality for 5am Sunday The air quality index is expected to reach Moderate or Unhealthy For Sensitive Groups on Saturday, increasing throughout the day.  Northern counties wi ..read more

Smoke from local and Canadian fires is impacting air quality in Central and Eastern Washington, as seen on this morning's satellite image: GOES-West 17Aug 2023 15:31Z Conditions will improve somewhat tomorrow as westerly winds push the smoke away, but relief will be short-lived as the winds shift to bring smoke back into the region Saturday evening. It's likely to be smoky in most of Central and Eastern Washington through the weekend, ranging from Moderate to Unhealthy conditions.  Critical fire weather continues across the state in this hot and dry weather. Active fire detections are sh ..read more

Wildfire smoke is increasing in our state, which means we need to start taking steps to reduce our exposure and protect ourselves. Breathing in wildfire smoke can cause health problems, even if you are healthy. Limit duration and intensity of outside physical activity.  Stay inside with cleaner indoor air:  Close windows and doors, unless it is too hot to maintain safe temperatures.  Don’t add to indoor air pollution by smoking cigarettes or burning candles inside.  Filter indoor air through an HVAC system, HEPA portable air cleaner, or a DIY box fan filter.  Set ..read more

Westside Smoke Relief Tomorrow, Eastside Impacts Increase Unfortunately, our hot and dry weather has led to increased activity on several fires in the Northern Cascades. Remote weather stations near the Sourdough Fire topped out at 100 F yesterday afternoon and the heat is only expected to increase today. Critical fire weather will continue for the next few days. Hot and dry conditions will persist in the interior through Friday, while strong westerly winds will impact the Cascades this afternoon and all of Eastern Washington on Thursday. With all these threats, resources are spread thin, so ..read more