Explosive wildfire activity spreads smoke across Washington

Current situation

Multiple large fires are burning across the state, with no rest in sight for firefighters. Spokane experienced devastating wildfire impacts over the weekend and the situation is still very active. Hundreds of structures burned, causing potentially hazardous air quality on top of the tragedy. Meanwhile, other fires across the state grew exponentially and are producing large amounts of smoke.

Unhealthy to Very Unhealthy air quality continues to inundate many parts of the state and more areas are expected to see smoke impacts later today and through the week. As winds shift, smoke is expected to cover the Columbia Basin and travel over parts of Western Washington, including the Seattle metro area.

Air Quality Alerts (AQAs)

AQAs have been extended to all of Eastern and Central Washington until further notice. AQAs are also being issued today for parts of Western Washington, including Pierce, King, Snohomish, Kitsap, and Thurston counties until Wednesday afternoon. Additional alerts may be issued for other counties in Western Washington if conditions deteriorate.

Forecasted conditions

Fire and smoke will be very dynamic over the next few days.

A strong high pressure system off the coast is expected to persist this week, resulting in hot and dry conditions and winds coming from the north-northeast. This will allow smoke to engulf most of Eastern and Central Washington through the week.

Haze will also be visible in Western Washington and smoke is expected to mix down into the Puget Sound lowlands, and a high pressure ridge is expected to stick around for a few days, so smoke is likely to stick around in the meantime.

Where is it coming from?

Eastern Washington has several large active fires including the Autumn Lane Fire, Old Trails Fire, Mitre Rock Fire, Modrite Fire, Hudspeth Fire, Bradeen Hill Fire, Kaiser Canyon Fire, and Paradise Fire.

Central Washington also has several large active fires, including the Little Giant Fire, Sinlahekin Fire, Ptarmigan Fire, Luna Fire, and the Border 2 Fire. Fires to the north in British Columbia also continue to burn.

For more information about these fires, including evacuation notices and recent updates, check-in with your local emergency response organization and consider using the non-profit Watch Duty for crowd-sourced information.

What can you do?

When smoky conditions are this widespread, it's important to stay inside where there is cleaner indoor air. Run portable air cleaners or consider making your own box fan filter, set your HVAC system to recirculate, and consider wearing an N95 mask to protect your health if you must go outside. You can find clean air shelters listed on the 2-1-1 site.

In addition to smoke, health impacts can be amplified when it is hot and smoky, so be sure to pay attention to any symptoms and check out DOH's resources on how to protect yourself from smoke.