Wildfire Smoke Settles Over Puget Sound: Air Quality Forecast

SEATTLE, WA — Many Puget Sound communities woke up enveloped in haze Tuesday morning after easterly winds pushed smoke into the region from wildfires burning in Eastern and Central Washington.

By mid-morning, air quality levels in Seattle, Shoreline and Bellevue reached the "very unhealthy" range, while adverse effects were milder in South King County and Pierce County.

Latest: Washington Air Quality Forecast: Smoke Lingers For Another Day

According to the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency, outdoor activities are discouraged for all groups, including healthy adults, in King, Kitsap, Pierce and Snohomish counties on Tuesday. The agency said variable winds make it difficult to predict how long the smoke will stick around, but some impact to air quality is likely into Wednesday. Fluctuating winds could mean some areas oscillate between good and unhealthy air between hours.

Higher temperatures Wednesday and Thursday could also produce ozone, the agency said, resulting in moderate air quality in the Cascade foothills. The latest air quality forecast predicts unhealthy air will linger until Thursday in the foothills of East King County and East Pierce County.

Find current air quality information via the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency.

There is some good news, though: National Weather Service forecasters expect the strongest wind gusts to ease by Tuesday afternoon, allowing the smoke to dissipate in the lowlands without pushing new plumes into the region. However, even as the winds taper off, critical fire concerns will remain in place until at least Friday.

Humidity percentages Wednesday will remain below 30 percent for much of Puget Sound, dropping near or below 20 percent around Tacoma and Olympia. Monday night illustrated exactly what fire departments feared, as major brush fires burned near Bonney Lake, Sumner and Enumclaw. A fire near Graham destroyed several homes and burned more than 100 acres.