Wenatchee continues to experience smoke from ongoing activity at the Labor Mountain Fire, which has burned 41,418 acres and is currently 20% contained. Air quality sensors in the valley are reporting UNHEALTHY conditions. In contrast, the Lower Sugarloaf Fire, now at 42,955 acres and 90% contained, is producing less smoke as containment improves.
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| 7 Day AQI for Wenatchee (solid line) and Yakima (dashed line), Department of Ecology |
This weekend, a mix of snow and rain is expected over the Cascade Mountains. The Wildcat Fire area could see 1–2 inches of snow, while Labor Mountain and Lower Sugarloaf are likely to receive less than an inch. Higher relative humidity and moisture may provide some relief to Wenatchee Valley and surrounding areas by dampening fire activity. In Yakima, air quality has steadily improved since Monday. Snow and rain over the Wildcat Fire, along with increased winds and light showers, are expected to further improve air quality through the weekend.
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| 48 snow accumulation (inches) this weekend, and active NIFC fires, NOAA DESI |
Air quality alerts for Chelan and Douglas counties have been reinstated until further notice.
Another update on the blog will be provided next week as air quality evolves following the
wet weather.
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| Tactical firing operations along Highway 97 near Labor Mountain Fire, Inciweb |
Hello,
ReplyDeleteThank you for the work and time that goes into maintaining this site and all of the updates - it is an invaluable source of information.
One question I was hoping you could help with, as someone who monitors AQI fairly frequently and closely. I have noticed that the permanent monitor at 10th & Weller in Seattle consistently records much worse AQI readings than the sensors around it. For instance, as of 10:30am PT on Oct-14, the 10th & Weller monitor has a reading of 54 while the permanent monitor at 16th Ave S in Seattle shows 17 (and the other nearby permanent monitors show 13-30). And it's not a one off, the 10th & Weller monitor is almost always significantly higher than the surrounding ones. Is that just in a bad location? I struggle to understand why it always looks like the outlier...and, if I should use that reading or take the better ones that surround it. Appreciate any thoughts. Thank you!
The Seattle-10th & Weller monitors are sited next to Washington’s most heavily-trafficked freeway location, where I-5 and I-90 intersect. This site is expected to represent
Deletethe highest concentrations resulting from roadway/vehicle emissions. It was specifically chosen as a long-term site for multiple pollutants (not just PM2.5) to represent Washington's worst-possible air quality arising from traffic.