Statewide forecast — Sept. 12: Rain this weekend! Bad news for fires.

Good air quality has been sustained across the state for several days now thanks to some precipitation, cooler temperatures, and increased relative humidity.  Significant precipitation is expected this weekend too, which will further reduce any remaining fire activity.  Clear skies are expected next week but the summer weather is done for this year.  We are even starting to see some agricultural and prescribed burns in places, which indicates that the summer wildfire season is on its way out the door.

Fire activity on the eastern slopes of the Cascades has been minimal. The light rain on Tuesday helped increase containment of fires like McLeod and Crescent Mountain. Some light smoke and fire activity will still be visible in parts of Okanogan County (e.g. Pasayten, Twisp) as stumps, downed logs, and other ground fuels continue to smolder.  Expect Good air quality for the next few days with some intermittent Moderate conditions immediately downwind of smoldering fires. 

Southwesterly winds are expected in Northeastern Washington over the next couple days.  So we shouldn't see much of any smoke from the nearby fires in Canada and Idaho that are still lingering.  Expect Good air quality, though some small fires in the area have been pushing the Newport monitor into the Moderate category at times.

Air quality around Yakima is Good but the Miriam fire is still experiencing a little growth.  This means that residents in Yakima county that are immediately downwind of the fire may see some intermittent Moderate conditions.

PM2.5 Monitor Dot Map for Wednesday (1 pm)