As forecast, Clark County residents woke up to smoky skies Monday morning, but air quality officials continue to deem the area’s conditions as moderate.
The haze and smoke from far-away fires will stick around until midweek. According to the Washington Smoke Information blog, there is “no significant smoke clearing expected before Wednesday for most of the state.”
“Medium range weather models suggest southwest winds will (bring) some clean air to Western Washington by Thursday and in Eastern Washington by Friday, perhaps keeping it all clean through the weekend, except close to major fires,” according to a Monday blog post.
A moderate air quality designation means people with chronic health conditions are advised to limit time outdoors and avoid strenuous outdoor activities, as they may begin to experience worsened symptoms.
The Southwest Clean Air Agency and Washington State Department of Ecology have continued an air quality advisory that will remain in effect until noon Wednesday for Clark County and other nearby counties.
“(A)ir quality levels can be expected to oscillate between unhealthy and moderate. Smoke may not affect all areas at all times,” according to the advisory.
The pollution is not just affecting Clark County and Portland. Unhealthy air is common across the region.
In Spokane, air quality has slipped into the “hazardous” range. Thick haze hung over Washington’s second-largest city, forcing drivers to turn on their vehicle’s headlights during the morning commute. In Seattle, the Space Needle was swathed in haze, and it was impossible to see the Olympic Mountains.
It’s not just Washington that’s been under the veil of charred particulates. Smoke from wildfires is clogging the sky across the West, blotting out mountains and city skylines from Oregon to Colorado, and even delaying commercial flights.
As large cities dealt with unhealthy air for a second summer in a row, experts warned that it could become more common as the West faces larger and more destructive wildfires because of heat and drought blamed on climate change. Officials also must prioritize resources during the longer firefighting season, so some blazes may be allowed to burn in unpopulated areas.
Smoky Seattle
Seattle was particularly hit by the smoke. Forest fires are common in the Northwest in August, but typical Seattle-area weather pushes it out of the way quickly. The latest round of prolonged smoke happened as hot temperatures and high pressure collided, said Andrew Wineke, a spokesman for the state Ecology Department’s air quality program.
It’s a rare occurrence that also happened last year, raising concerns for many locals that it may become normal during wildfire season. Wineke said climate change is expected to contribute to many more fires.
“The trend is clear. You see the number of forest fires increasing, and so there’s going to be wildfires,” Wineke said. “There’s going to be smoke. It’s going to be somewhere.”
Portland residents who were up early saw a blood-red sun shrouded in smoke and huffed their way through another day of polluted air. Portland Public Schools suspended all outdoor sports practices, as did some, but not all, schools in Clark County.
Thick smoke in Denver blocked the view of some of Colorado’s famous mountains and prompted an air quality health advisory for the northeastern quarter of the state.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
