Turner Hill fire in North Idaho smoking out Spokane this morning

A fast moving fire started last night in the Turner Hill area, north of Sandpoint. Low mixing heights and a direct wind flow brought smoke through Sandpoint and into Spokane early this morning. Several monitors show Unhealthy NowCast AQI values for several hours. The weather system passing over the region won't help with mixing heights, but changing winds and precipitation should limit the duration of smoke in the Spokane area.

Turner Hill Fire Photo acquired from https://app.watchduty.org/i/108749/reports/656453

The Turner Hill fire is being managed by the Idaho Department of Lands and North Bench Fire District, with over 20 people actively working the fire last night. There was also a brush fire on an I-90 ramp this morning, which contributed a little to the smoke in Spokane this morning.

PM2.5 in north Idaho and Spokane area (8 am, Thursday July 16)

Lots of rain and thunderstorms are actively moving over northwest Washington and northeast Oregon today. Eastern Washington precipitation amounts will be more sporadic. Windy and dry conditions are anticipated for the Columbia Gorge and Cascade gaps of eastern Washington but the humidity levels will surge during the evening. However, a warming and drying trend will kick back in regionally this weekend.

Many lightning strikes are occurring across the region, so new fire ignitions are likely to be discovered over the next few days. Stay tuned for changing conditions and we'll post updates as needed.