More hazy skies for western Washington

Expect hazy, smoky skies in parts of the Puget Sound region Tuesday and Wednesday.

Anna Lindeman, a National Weather Service Meteorologist in Seattle, believes it’s due to a change in the wind direction.

“Air is coming from the eastern Cascades, where we currently have several large, ongoing fires,” Lindeman said.

Multiple wildfires bring in hazy skies across WA

Those east-to-west winds are blowing smoke in from the Lower Sugarloaf Fire, which is burning on nearly 30,000 acres about 25 miles northeast of Leavenworth, and the more than 13,000 Labor Mountain Fire, which is 10 miles north of Cle Elum, according to Air Quality Scientist Graeme Carvlin with the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency.

“We may see the unhealthy air quality happen in Snohomish County and in some parts of King County, especially the northern and eastern parts of King County and the southeastern parts of Snohomish County,” Carvlin said.

He said some people are more sensitive to wildfire smoke than others. “Sensitive groups include the elderly, youth, and people with preexisting health conditions.”

Even if you’re not necessarily susceptible to smoke, you may want to take precautions. “Spending time indoors, running an air filter, or using a mask outside, if the smoke is bothering you.”

Carvlin said poor air quality due to wildfires is a fairly new phenomenon in the Puget Sound region.

“It’s just in the last 10 years or so that we’ve been seeing this level of impacts.” He said wildfires are becoming more frequent and geographically closer to the Puget Sound region, including wildfires in the traditionally cooler, wetter western side of Washington State. For instance, the Bear Gulch fire is burning on more than 19,000 acres on the Olympic Peninsula.

Carvlin said in recent years, “The weather conditions have changed overall, so there are hotter, drier summers, which lead to more fire starts and more fire growth.”

Lindeman said smoke should start clearing out of the Puget Sound region during the day Tuesday. “We have a weak front that’s going to shift the wind back to onshore, which will help to push the smoke back towards the east.”

You can monitor current air quality at the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency website.

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