Canadian smoke and critical fire weather

Smoke from the Placer Creek Fire in Southern BC is impacting communities in northeastern Washington. The fire began over the weekend and has quickly grown to 6400 acres. This morning's satellite image shows the smoke plume moving southeast.

GOES-WEST 14 Jul 2025 15:11Z

Smoke is also visible west of Tonasket:

Smoke visible at Aeneas Mountain west of Tonasket. Image courtesy: DNR/Pano

Smoke from the fire will continue to impact northeastern Washington until shifting winds this afternoon push the smoke south into the Okanogan Valley.

Smoke from the Hope and Western Pines Fires in northeastern WA continue to impact nearby communities. Firefighting efforts on both fires continue, but hot, dry, and windy conditions will challenge efforts and increase fire activity. Communities nearby to both fires should continue to expect intermittent smoke impacts. In general, most of Central and Eastern WA will observe moderate air quality over the next few days due to multiple fires in the region.

Critical Fire Weather Today

Extreme fire weather is expected this afternoon in Okanogan Valley; very strong winds (sustained winds 30-40 mph and gusts up to 50-60 mph) are forecasted for the area. The strong winds in addition to the hot and dry conditions will contribute to critical fire weather in the Okanogan Valley as well as the Columbian Basin. A Red Flag Warning has been issued for most of Eastern WA through Wednesday.

These strong north winds will transport Canadian smoke south into the Okanogan Valley. Any new fire starts will spread quickly and existing fires (including the Pomas Fire) will exhibit increased growth. 

Fire weather concerns will ease Thursday with the return of westerly winds that will also help scour out any areas of poor air quality.  

Western WA Smoke Impacts Tomorrow

Tomorrow winds from the northeast will push Canadian smoke into northwestern Washington (primarily eastern Whatcom, Skagit, and northern Snohomish counties). Most of the smoke will likely stay above us in the atmosphere but a fraction may mix down to the surface tomorrow afternoon leading to moderate air quality at worst. Haze may be noticeable across western Washington before westerly winds return on Thursday.