Welcome to the Washington Smoke blog, a partnership between state, county, and federal agencies, and Tribes. We coordinate to collectively share information for Washington communities affected by wildfire smoke.
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Overall, Western WA has seen mostly GOOD air quality with minimal smoke impacts. Eastern Washington has improved, but haze remains with periods of MODERATE to UNHEALTHY FOR SENSITIVE GROUPS the past several days. North-central Washington continues to deal with periods of heavy smoke, as does Walla Walla due to smoke from the Paradise and Hagen fires. The Air Quality Index has reached VERY…
Current smoke impacts are largely confined to areas downwind of active fires. The Little Giant and Sinlahekin Fires are the primary sources of smoke, and both are expected to produce more smoke today with warmer temperatures and increased winds. Large fires in the region. Source: DNR Wildfire Dashboard. Fire Roundup In the North Cascades, the Border 2 Fire , Luna Fire , and Ptarmigan Fire remain…
Eastern Washington is getting a bit of a reprieve from smoke today, but that improvement comes at the expense of areas along the Cascades. North and northeast winds are pushing smoke south and southwest, leading to smoky conditions this morning in places like Ellensburg, the Tri-Cities, and Yakima. Yesterday's thunderstorms also resulted in lightning strikes mostly in North Central and Northeast…
Weather on the horizon Residents in the northern half of eastern Washington have been inundated with smoke for what seems like an eternity! A weather system will bring scattered thunderstorms across Northern Washington and BC this week, but the amount of precipitation will likely not be enough to abate fire activity. Lightning could also spark new fires near the Canadian border. National Weather…
Transport Winds are Back Transport winds from the west are back in effect, which means intermittent clearing will occur in some areas. Conditions east of the Cascades will be hot and dry this weekend, and winds are expected to increase. Despite some clearing, heavy smoke continues to be generated from wildfires across the region, and wind gusts will likely lead to more fire growth. A Red Flag…
Outdoor workers are at especially high risk of developing wildfire-smoke related symptoms. Minimize the health risks to workers by reducing exposure time to wildfire smoke. Each workplace is unique and requires a unique approach in protecting their workers from wildfire smoke. The following are some suggestions: Provide enclosed buildings, structures, or vehicles with filtered air; Relocate work…
Widespread smoke impacts continue across the state, as seen in today's satellite imagery. Satellite imagery from 8/6/2026 (Terra/MODIS). When will air quality improve? In Western WA , expect slow and gradual improvement today. Winds are shifting onshore but the relatively weak push of cleaner air means smoke may linger longer than initially expected. More noticeable clearing should develop…
Smoke Increasing The most widespread smoke impacts of the season are being felt on Tuesday with smoke reaching the surface both east and west of the Cascade crest. One thing that has spared the western Washington lowlands so far is some cleaner air coming down from the Strait of Georgia between British Columbia and Vancouver Island. This has been scouring out some of the smoke along and west of…
Current Situation Multiple large fires are burning across the state, with no rest in sight for firefighters. Spokane experienced devastating wildfire impacts over the weekend and the situation is still very active, with hundreds of structures burned causing potentially hazardous air quality. Other fires across the state grew exponentially and are producing large amounts of smoke. Unhealthy to Very…
A Particularly Dangerous Situation (PDS) Red Flag Warning is in effect Saturday afternoon and evening across much of Central and Eastern Washington. NWS is highlighting extremely critical fire weather conditions that could lead to rapidly changing fire and smoke behavior throughout the weekend. This weekend Extreme conditions tomorrow with the passage of a dry cold front will lead to significant…
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