Fall weather has finally arrived! Time to grab a thermos of apple cider and hit the pumpkin patches! The shift in weather has also brought improved air quality across the state.
In Western Washington, conditions remain GOOD this
week, thanks to rain from Monday through Tuesday night that helped clear out
smoke from the Bear Gulch fire.
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| 72 hour rain accumulation in inches (9/28-10/01), National Weather Service Weather and Hazards Data Viewer |
Eastern Washington has also seen notable improvement over the past two days. Air quality in Cle Elum, Wenatchee, Entiat, Chelan, and nearby areas has improved from UNHEALTHY on Monday to MODERATE to USG levels today. The Methow Valley is holding between GOOD and MODERATE. With these improvements, Air Quality Alerts have been lifted for Chelan and Douglas Counties.
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| 7 Day AQI for Twisp (solid line) and Chelan (dashed line), Dept. of Ecology |
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| 7 Day AQI for Entiat (solid line) and Wenatchee (dashed line), Dept. of Ecology |
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| 7 Day AQI for Cle Elum (solid line) and Ellensburg (dashed line), Dept of Ecology |
Looking ahead, smoke impacts should stay minimal through the
rest of the week. However, wildfire season isn’t over yet. Fires along the
eastern Cascades have received some rain but remain active: Wildcat
(14,316 acres, 6% containment), Labor Mountain (37,238 acres, 7%
containment), and Lower Sugarloaf (39,594 acres, 48% containment). We’ll
continue to provide updates as smoke conditions change in the coming weeks.
