Smoke in the Cascades - But More Rain this Weekend

It's that time of year when we all start to wonder if wildfire season will end soon.  Fire growth has mostly been light this week, but there are still active incidents and smoke affecting nearby communities in the Cascades.  Hot-spots are still being detected by satellite at the Border 2, Luna, Sisi, Little Giant, Three Queens, and King fires. There was also a new vegetation fire in Walla Walla county yesterday that grew quickly, but the Skyrocket Fire progress has been stopped by fire crews and there were only minimal smoke impacts.

Winds today are light, keeping smoke near active fires.  Cle Elum, Chelan, Leavenworth, and other nearby communities are experiencing moderate to unhealthy smoke impacts.  Stehekin has been experiencing more concerning smoke impacts, due its proximity to the Sisi fire, but fire crews are working hard to increase containment with water drops and fire lines. 

Smoke impacts this week in Chelan, Cle Elum, Entiat, Leavenworth, and Stehekin

Easterly winds are expected to increase tonight and into tomorrow, which will bring moderate smoke into the mountain valley towns of Whatcom, King, and Snohomish counties tomorrow morning.  The good news is that more rain and cooler weather is on the way Saturday night and into Sunday, which will clear out smoke and reduce fire activity.  Over an inch of rain is expected near the Three Queens and King fires.  However, less rain is expected further north.  The Border 2 and Luna fire in Whatcom county aren't expected to benefit, while the Sisi and Little Giant fires in Chelan county will likely see minimal rain.

Total rain expected this weekend - courtesy of Windy.com (NAM model)

Overall, moisture this weekend will help decrease fire activity significantly.  However, cooler temperatures will cause lower mixing heights which keeps smoke near the surface. We don’t expect any new large scale incidents, but current fires still represent a substantial source of smoke for the nearby communities in the Cascades.  Warmer and drier conditions are also expected next week, which will allow those pesky fires to stick around a bit longer.