Air Quality in Central Washington continues to be impacted by the Lower Sugarloaf and Labor Mountain Fires. Firefighting efforts are ongoing, but the rugged terrain of the Okanogan-Wenatchee Forest makes controlling wildfires extremely difficult. Over the weekend, smoke from those fires contributed to periods of poor air quality across Eastern Washington. Adding to the haze was smoke drifting north from Oregon wildfires, as well as additional impacts from the Wildcat Fire.
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| Counties observing days of USG or worse air quality over the weekend. |
Today's weather shift with increased moisture and cooler temperatures may ease fire activity, but communities closest to the Lower Sugarloaf and Labor Mountain Fires (Wenatchee, Leavenworth, Plain, Entiat, Chelan) will continue to breathe unhealthy air. Cle Elum and Ellensburg can expect conditions ranging from moderate to USG. Southerly to southwesterly winds will also push smoke north into Okanogan County, leading to periods of unhealthy air in the Methow Valley. Air Quality Alerts continue in Chelan and Douglas Counties.
When air quality is unhealthy, follow tips from DOH to protect yourself from wildfire smoke.
Outside of the immediate fire locations, lingering haze in Eastern Washington should improve throughout the day today.
Rain Outlook
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| Mean rainfall expected through Thursday morning. NWS. |
Beneficial rain in Western WA this week will improve conditions around the Bear Gulch Fire. Smoke impacts in the region should be minimal and even areas closest to the fire (Hoodsport, Lake Cushman) will get a break from the smoke thanks to the rain.
East of the Cascades, daily rain chances continue through Thursday, although precipitation will be scattered. Forecast totals suggest at least some chance of wetting rain on the active fires, with better chances along the western edges of the Lower Sugarloaf and Labor Mountain Fires. While this moisture will help slow fire activity, it's unlikely to fully suppress the fires. A consistent, soaking rain is needed, and unfortunately that does not look likely in the near-term forecast.
Hi, thanks for writing the WA Smoke Blog, I was wondering why the Seattle area is turning yellow even though it's raining?
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment. Looking at yesterday's data in Seattle, the highest AQI occurred in the afternoon at the Seattle-10th and Weller monitoring site. This monitoring site is located at the intersection of I-5 and I-90 and is sited to measure near-roadway pollution. At this site we generally see concentrations increase and decrease with traffic patterns. Other than that in Seattle, AQI values remained on the lower end of the moderate (yellow) range. Smoke from fires in Southern Oregon drifted north yesterday and that also may have contributed to moderate AQI in Seattle. Last year the lower limit for moderate (yellow) was reduced, and so that could also be contributing to a few more yellow dots on the map even when overall concentrations are still relatively low. Rain definitely helps to scrub pollutants from the air, but even with rain PM2.5 from background and other sources can persist.
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