Air quality so bad around Puget Sound you can’t barbecue

Our air quality has diminished so much that we can’t even cook our food on charcoal barbecues.

The Puget Sound Clear Air Agency issued an Air Quality Burn Ban. The ban is in effect until further notice.

Prohibited burning in King, Kitsap, Pierce, and Snohomish counties includes:

• No charcoal barbecues
• No burning in fire pits, chimneys, fire bowls, or other fee-standing devices
• No campfires or bonfires
• No fireplaces, uncertified wood stoves,
  or uncertified inserts
• No agricultural fires

The air quality around Puget Sound is now being labeled by the Department of Ecology as “unhealthy.” That includes the bulk of cities along the I-5 corridor and beyond.

Wildfires to the north are the main culprit for the poor quality of our air.

Meanwhile, we’re in the middle of the heat wave in Western Washington. Temperatures Thursday are supposed to be the hottest yet, with highs in the mid- to upper-90s. Forecasts earlier this week called for a high of 99 in Seattle; that may not be the case, as the smoke is creating a partial block from the sun.

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