Eastern WA Smoke Update

There are a slew of active brush fires burning across eastern WA, largely driven by yesterday's strong winds and dry conditions. For the most part, air quality impacts have been minimal since Monday. However, this morning smoke from fires east of Omak (Kartar and Omak Lake Fires) is impacting areas near Nespelem and Coulee Dam. These downwind impacts should gradually decrease throughout the day as winds from the west help to disperse smoke, although these same strong winds may also contribute to additional fire growth.   

Current fires in the Columbia Basin remain large (notably the Tule, Juniper Dunes, and Tucannon Fires). While communities downwind and to the east of these active wildfires will potentially experience intermittent smoke impacts, recent fire growth has slowed and containment efforts have steadily increased.

Strong winds continue to influence fire behavior, and elevated fire weather conditions continue through today. Be sure to keep an eye on changing conditions and we'll update as needed.