7/20/21 Smoke Outlook for SE Washington - Lick Creek/Green Ridge

 

A detailed version of this outlook with live links can be found here: https://wildlandfiresmoke.net/outlooks/sewashington 

 *This outlook was produced through the support of the incident management team assigned to the Lick Creek and Green Ridge fires to help inform nearby communities of smoke impacts.

Second verse, same as the first

We’re in a bit of a holding pattern to start the week: That’s good news if you’re in western Washington, where onshore winds will continue to keep the smoke at bay and maintain air quality in the green zone. Less good if you’re in north-central or southeast Washington, where large fires are producing a significant amount of smoke, which you can see by the dark maroon (hazardous) and light purple (very unhealthy) and red (unhealthy) on our monitoring map this morning.

Hazardous air quality on monitors near Winthrop

Air quality in those areas should improve as the day goes on and the warmth of the sun increases mixing in the atmosphere, allowing some of that smoke to dissipate. Still, expect air quality in the Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups or Unhealthy range in Mazama, Winthrop, Twisp and surrounding communities.

Mean daily air quality readings in E. WA cities

In Clarkston and nearby communities, air quality should improve to the Moderate range as the day goes on, but expect to wake up to poor air quality conditions throughout the week. Southeast Washington is getting a glancing shot from smoke coming from the massive Bootleg Fire in southern Oregon, although the bulk of the smoke there is still coming from local fires.

Smoke from the Bootleg Fire in Oregon - NWS

Because of those air quality impacts in central and eastern Washington, we’ve again extended our Air Quality Alert for Asotin, Ferry, Garfield, Okanogan, Stevens and Whitman counties until further notice. Finally, thunderstorms are in the forecast again this week, and the National Weather Service has issued a Red Flag Warning through Wednesday for much of eastern Washington because of the elevated fire danger. 

We’ve got a long ways to go in this fire season yet, so stay safe out there.

7/19/2021 Smoke Outlook for North Central Washington Areas near the Cedar Creek, Delancy, and Cub Creek 2 Wildfires

 

A detailed version of this outlook with live links can be found here: https://wildlandfiresmoke.net/outlooks/northcentralwashington

*This outlook was produced through the support of the incident management team assigned to the Cedar Creek, Delancy, and Cub Creek 2 fire to help inform nearby communities of smoke impacts.

7/19/2021 Smoke Outlook for South East Washington and Other Areas Downwind of the Lick Creek Fire

 A detailed version of this outlook with live links can be found here: https://wildlandfiresmoke.net/outlooks/sewashington 

*This outlook was produced through the support of the incident management team assigned to the Lick Creek fire to help inform nearby communities of smoke impacts.

7/18/2021 Smoke Outlook for North Central Washington

 A detailed version of this outlook with live links can be found here: https://wildlandfiresmoke.net/outlooks/northcentralwashington

*This outlook was produced through the support of the incident management team assigned to the Cedar Creek, Delancy, and Cub Creek 2 fire to help inform nearby communities of smoke impacts.

7/17/2021 Smoke Outlook for N. Central Washington

A detailed version of this outlook with live links can be found here: https://wildlandfiresmoke.net/outlooks/northcentralwashington

*This outlook was produced through the support of the incident management team assigned to the Cedar Creek, Delancy, and Cub Creek 2 fire to help inform nearby communities of smoke impacts.

Cool southwest winds = cloudier + smoke- free skies in Western WA. Head east for sunshine + heat + smoke

'nuff said about western WA, although the satellite map overlaid with fine particle pollution data is worth a glance. Green circles = Good air.

Judging by monitor readings, much of the smoke over parts of eastern WA is staying overhead and not mixing down to ground level. A strong-ish push of marine air since last evening has scoured out a lot of the smoke and will "cool" temperatures into the mid 80's/ low 90's today. Welcome relief... for now.

But these winds are also raising the stakes in the fire danger game. There is a small risk of dry thunderstorms on Saturday night. For Sunday and later, expect more warming and reduced smoke dispersion.

There is an Air Quality Alert in effect covering the areas below. 

North central WA

Fires burning in the Methow valley and on the Colville Reservation are puffing a lot of smoke, but the Red Apple fire west of Wenatchee is not. Models suggest most of this smoke will not accumulate until Sunday or later, except of course right by the fires. 

The wildcard however is new fires. 

Southeastern WA

The Lick Creek fire in Asotin County is expected to continue emitting smoke, but again, the build-up of smoke will mostly be confined to the vicinity of the fires until late in the weekend. Smoke from the Bootleg fire in southern Oregon will also deal a glancing blow to this area under southwesterly winds. The Dept of Ecology's 5-day smoke forecast (which also has clickable pop-ups for each area), shows the air degrading to USG on occasion. 

Lick Creek Smoke Outlook - Friday, July 16, 2021

  Please note, this outlook was produced through the support of the incident management team assigned to the Lick Creek fire to help inform nearby communities of smoke impacts

Lick Creek Smoke Outlook - July 15, 2021

 Note: This outlook was produced through the support of the incident management team assigned to the Lick Creek fire to help inform nearby communities of smoke impacts

Lick Creek Smoke Outlook - July 14, 2021

Note: This outlook was produced through the support of the incident management team assigned to the Lick Creek fire to help inform nearby communities of smoke impacts