Our local air quality could take a hit as forecasts suggest smoke from wildfires (both in California and in eastern Washington) may drift over western Washington this weekend.
Weather models predict smoke from fires in northern California may move over the Olympic Peninsula by Friday morning. Though the smoke would mostly be confined to higher altitudes, some may circulate down to ground level, which could create localized episodes of moderate PM2.5 levels.
That smoke should be cleared by Saturday morning, however, as the south winds shift into an easterly flow toward the end of the weekend. That will clear any lingering California smoke out of the region, but it could bring smoke from eastern Washington over the Cascades and into the Puget Sound lowlands, potentially impacting areas of Thurston and Mason Counties.
The Washington Department of Health offers detailed information on how residents can best deal with wildfire smoke impacts. That information can be found here: https://www.doh.wa.gov/CommunityandEnvironment/AirQuality/SmokeFromFires
Washington’s complete network of Air Monitoring Stations — including those managed and maintained by ORCAA — and the direct impacts of wildfire smoke can be found here: https://fire.airnow.gov/
Additional information on wildfires and smoke from wildfires is available at http://wasmoke.blogspot.com/
ORCAA will continue to monitor this possible smoke event and will report any changes of note.
