Smoke rises and falls during the day, driven by wind and temperature changes. Phew, glad we're done with that. On Sept. 8, air quality declined to unhealthy levels in the Puget Sound region. Eight national forests were ordered to close on Monday in Southern and Central California. Forecasts are constantly recalibrated as new information becomes available.”. We’re happy to help answer questions and comments. The number of acres burned by wildfires each year is increasing as climate change reduces winter snowpack, and produces hotter and drier summer weather. hour pushed smoke from the fires to the east across In 2020, strong east winds allowed a super-massive plume of smoke to accumulate offshore, but had the wind shift been followed by stronger on-shore flows, that reservoir would have quickly drained. Black line is the mean of them all. “We look at multiple weather and smoke models, each with their own strengths and weaknesses,” Dhammapala said. This product includes GeoLite2 data created by MaxMind, available from maxmind.com. Ecology scientist Dr. Beth Friedman looked at historical records going back to when the agency began tracking PM2.5 levels in the early 2000s. Smoke from the Lionshead Fire and Beachie Creek Fire create an orange glow as an "extremely critical" fire warning is issued on Monday, September … More than 2.5 million people visited the smoke blog over the week, while another 2.6 million looked to Ecology’s. Whether it is a harbinger of the future or an exceptional event remains to be seen. The sequence of events chronicled above shows that several factors have to come together in the right sequence for smoke events of this magnitude. This is a good example of a temperature inversion working in our favor by not allowing smoke aloft to mix down. began to blow from the east and strengthened To learn about smoke events in your area, review the Latest Information tab for a general forecast, or consult local weather conditions, and check local air monitors under the Monitoring & Forecasting tab. Brown said that she has directed the Office of Emergency Management to request a federal emergency declaration. Washington is no stranger to wildfire smoke. It is automatically updated with measured fine particle pollution data and a two-day forecast, year round. Rain clouds have replaced the choking fog of smoke that held Washington in a vice for more than a week, and the annual dread of late-summer wildfires appears to have eased. What health problems can smoke cause? Open Weather Map, combined with qweather™ improvement algorithm, Contains modified Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service Information, Some of the icons made by Freepik from www.flaticon.com, or let us find your nearest air quality monitoring station, Air quality is considered satisfactory, and air pollution poses little or no risk. On Thursday, Sept. 10, the hope that Washington would dodge the bullet faded. But inversions also trap pollutants released at the surface within a shallow layer, so we still have to deal with our own gunk in addition to whatever little smoke mixes down. By Saturday, western Washington was clear – air quality monitors showed nearly all green on the map. quickly. We've hardly seen air quality deteriorating beyond Moderate anywhere in the state, or further upwind in Oregon for that matter. The major impacts to air quality were a few fast-burning range fires near Yakima and Mattawa. As that smoke settled, air quality grew worse and worse. “It’s common for people to have eye and respiratory tract irritation; stress; headaches; shortness of breath; and, among those who already have asthma, worsened symptoms. Light winds in the middle of the week momentarily cleared the smoke from a few spots on the coast, but then also brought a second wave of smoke from Oregon fires. There are 48 active wildfires in Oregon that have consumed more than 470,000 acres so far, according to the state’s office of emergency management. We monitor this site during business hours, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Click on the word “comments” at the end of a post under the Latest Information tab. According to PowerOutage.US, more than 140,000 are without power. Rain is helping a bit, but the weakening inversion is helping most. Please enable JavaScript for a better experience. Rain clouds have replaced the choking fog of smoke that held Washington in a vice for more than a week, and the annual dread of late-summer wildfires appears to have eased. 2020 was a record-setter. They have their own opinions, some with more merit than others. Air Pollution in Washington: Real-time Air Quality Index Visual Map. Population exposed to smoke (written by Ecology's Andrew Wineke). Climate researchers predict that the number of acres burned each year in the west will continue to rise, as warmer winters eat away at mountain snowpack, and hotter summers dry foliage more quickly, setting the stage for wildfire. Active children and adults, and people with respiratory disease, such as asthma, should avoid all outdoor exertion; everyone else, especially children, should limit outdoor exertion. Just as it does during wintertime temperature inversions, the smoke settled in the valleys and basins of Washington, forcing millions of residents to shelter inside. Before we get back to business as usual, however, we wanted to review what exactly happened in the first three weeks of September, what it did to all of us that were stuck breathing that toxic soup, and what we can learn from this smoke event to prepare us for future summers when the smoke returns. We monitor this site during business hours, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Click on the word “comments” at the end of a post under the, We are unable to provide site-specific forecasts for smoke. For personal health advice, please consult your physician. If your eyes feel like they're stinging, smoke exposure could also be inflicting other damage. Do we need to prepare for weeks stuck inside every summer from now on? “This act gives the state fire marshal the power to direct and deploy state resources anywhere where they are needed,” Brown explained. This product includes GeoNames city information, available from geonames.org. The number of wildfires in the western United States continues to increase daily. About the Air Quality and Pollution Measurement: How polluted is the air today? As bad as these smoke events were, they could not compare to September 2020. The entire population is more likely to be affected. Warnings have also been issued for the Concow area. Who said smoke dynamics aren't complex! Smoke from wildfires is the largest source of particle pollution in Washington. Wildfires exploded in southern, central and northern Oregon, forced the evacuation of entire cities, ultimately burning up to the edges of the Portland suburbs as nearly a million acres of forest and hundreds of homes succumbed to the flames. FYI, Ecology's air monitor in Yakima will be taken offline later today due to renovations happening at the host facility. Most monitors in eastern WA have been pretty static today (read: Unhealthy to Very Unhealthy air) but cross Cascade winds are starting to pick up and will eventually make their way into the Columbia Basin overnight. Thankfully, it now seems like those concerns are a bit overblown. There has been some speculation that another bout of Californian smoke will overrun western WA again this week.

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