Canadian Wildfire Smoke Forecasted to Return to Washington

The National Weather Service is expecting wildfire smoke from Canadian wildfires to return to the State of Washington, Monday afternoon and slowly intensify in North Central Washington on Tuesday evening. 

How bad will it get? 

* The air quality forecast models look especially bad Tuesday morning for Bellingham and the rest of Whatcom County and Skagit County.

* Wildfire haze will move into the rest of Puget Sound and will intensify in the Cascade Mountains by late Tuesday afternoon.

* By The 4th of July evening, the models show The Methow Valley, including Twisp and Winthrop looking to really get socked in.

* Here in the Wenatchee Valley there should be some haze that will intensify by mid Tuesday afternoon (July 4th.) By 9pm, the air quality gets worse, hour by hour for most of Central and Eastern Washington.

*Air quality in Brewster, Omak and Okanogan are all expected to be the worst hit by the bad air quality late Tuesday evening. 

You can see the updated smoke forecast by clicking on the BC Wildfire Service smoke forecast tool.

When wildfire smoke gets bad, you and your family should stay indoors as much as possible. 

When driving, flip on the recycled air switch. Last year, we published the “Indoor Air Quality Hacks During Wildfire Season.”

A few indoor hacks include: 

* Placing towels or a blanket underneath any door leading to the outside.

* Changing out the 20x20 air filter sooner than the usual 3 month recommendation.

Using a portable air cleaner, using it when you’re home and have it dialed up to the highest setting. IF you don’t have a store bought portable air cleaner, the EPA suggests making a DIY version of a portable air cleaner: A box fan paired with a 20x20 HVAC air filter. 

For more Indoor Air Quality Hacks, click this link.

Sources: BC Wildfire Service, Environmental Protection Agency