Eastern Washington forest fires led to a record-breaking September at Hanford for the number of days with smoke in a month, with eight such days, according to the Hanford Meteorological Station.

A day with smoke is recorded when the horizontal visibility becomes less than six miles at any point during the day. The record was four days in November 1969 and February 1970.

The total days with smoke at Hanford in 2012 through September is 10, which exceeds the annual record of nine set in 1970.

Washington's forests burned for much of the month as a rain-free streak exceeded three months for parts of the state, according to Washington State University's AgWeatherNet in Pasco.