Smoke, heat headed for Western Washington, as wildfires grow to the east and north

Western Washington's luck avoiding wildfire smoke so far this summer is running out.

A wildfire smoke alert was issued Monday for most of the Puget Sound region, with air quality likely to deteriorate Monday afternoon and reach unhealthy levels Tuesday. Air quality will remain poor throughout the week before finally clearing Friday.

"Currently, we're seeing some smoke overhead, but that could start to mix down to the ground over the course of this afternoon, and we expect further smoke coming in at ground level overnight," Graeme Carvlin, an air quality scientist with Puget Sound Clean Air Agency, said Monday. "So, today looks like maybe moderate to unhealthy for sensitive groups. Tomorrow, it's more likely to be unhealthy for sensitive groups to unhealthy [for everyone]."

In central and eastern Washington, extreme fire weather - with dry winds gusting up to 50 miles per hour - fueled explosive fire growth over the weekend. Three fast-moving fires in the Spokane area have burned through more than 7,000 acres, destroyed at least 700 structures, and forced the evacuation of about 65,000 people. Gov. Bob Ferguson declared a statewide wildfire emergency Saturday.

Anna Lindeman, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Seattle, said Western Washington is being hit by smoke from the Eastern Washington wildfires, as well as fires in British Columbia.

"We're kind of getting hit from two sides," Lindeman said.

Lindeman said the highest concentration of wildfire smoke will likely come Tuesday, but the pattern will not let up until onshore airflow moves in Friday.

One of the closest fires to the Puget Sound region is the Little Giant Fire, which has burned about 50,000 acres in the Cascades, northwest of Leavenworth. In the strong wind, firefighters were unable to prevent the fire from skipping across mile-wide Lake Chelan. Firefighters have not been able to contain the fire.

"If you're anywhere from Lake Wenatchee, Plain, Entiat, Lake Chelan, even down to Wenatchee, you're probably noticing the impacts of the smoke," said fire behavior analyst Dennis Burns, who's with the California incident team working the Little Giant fire. "It's actually not snowing in Plain. That's ash falling out of the sky from the direction that the winds have changed."

"With the extremely critical fire weather over the weekend, many of the fires in Central and Eastern Washington have grown substantially," said Beth Friedman, an air quality forecaster with the Washington State Department of Ecology.

Air quality in much of Central and Eastern Washington has been poor for weeks. Although the air quality has been good west of the Cascades so far this summer, it's still early in the Northwest's fire and smoke season.

Experts are predicting a potentially record-breaking fire season because of dry conditions across Washington state, which is in the midst of its fourth consecutive year of drought.

The earth's pollution-altered climate means drier, hotter summers in the Pacific Northwest and less winter snow. Both trends make the region more susceptible to fire and smoke.

Adding to the smoky air this week are high temperatures, expected to top out near 90 degrees Wednesday and Thursday for Seattle, with highs in the mid-90s forecast for Olympia.

Lindeman said the combination of smoke and hot weather can make outside activities more dangerous, especially for infants, children, people over 65, people who are pregnant, or those who have heart or lung diseases, respiratory infections, diabetes, or stroke survivors.

"Those folks who may be sensitive, be extra careful when you are outside because you may get tired a little faster or start feeling those impacts just a little bit faster because it will be pretty warm outside," she said.

When smoke reaches unhealthy levels, experts recommend limiting your time outside and avoiding strenuous activities. The fine particles in wildfire smoke can lodge deep in the lungs and are especially damaging.

"It's not just trees that burn. It's buildings and gasoline stations, asbestos. It can be chemicals. All kinds of things," University of Washington scientist Kristie Ebi said. "It's three to 10 times more toxic than the particulate matter that comes out of tailpipes."

Roughly one-third of Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metropolitan area homes lack air conditioning, making closed windows dangerous on hot days. For people who lack air conditioning or lack homes entirely, public spaces with cool clean air can be a life saver.