Stay inside. Tri-City air quality is unhealthy, officials warn

The Tri-Cities are smothering under a smoke blanket from fires across the Northwest and Canada.

The smoke level is unhealthy for many and people are being told to limit the amount of time they spend outside and to avoid strenuous outdoor activities.

Air quality throughout Central Washington dipped into unhealthy levels around 5 a.m., according to the state Department of Ecology.

It’s more likely to affect people with asthma, respiratory infections, diabetes or lung or heart disease. Infants, children, pregnant women and the elderly also are vulnerable.

Health officials say to use common sense. It’s probably not a good time to go for a jog, mow the lawn or send the kids outside to play.

And the mess isn’t expected to go away until at least Friday, said GK Hepburn, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Pendleton.

A strong high pressure system settled over the state, bringing hot temperatures along with winds from the north, according to state Ecology officials.

While air quality is likely to improve during the day, the smoke will probably settle in during the night. The National Weather Service issued an air quality alert lasting until noon Saturday.

Satellite images from the National Weather Service show the cloud of particulate blowing in from the north. Dozens of fires are burning in British Columbia, Washington, Idaho and even Montana.

An air quality alert was issued for Spokane, Lincoln, Pend Oreille, Stevens, Okanogan, Chelan, Douglas and Ferry counties.

Central Washington, from Okanogan to Kennewick, is bearing the brunt of the smoke.

The conditions are some of the worst Robin Bresley Priddy, the Benton Clean Air Agency’s director, has seen.

She said with smoke inundating everywhere from Seattle to Spokane, people don’t have a safe outdoor escape from it.

The state Department of Health offered several ways to be safe from the smoke. Along with staying inside, they advise to keep doors and windows closed.

Health officials say common hardware-store dust masks are not the answer. They are designed to trap large particles, not the fine particles in smoke. N95 or N100 respiratory masks can filter smaller particles but not gases, such as carbon monoxide, found in smoke.

They also suggest setting the air conditioner so it is recirculating the air inside, and to use a high-efficiency particulate air filter.

The weather service has issued a heat advisory for the Tri-City region until 8 p.m. Friday.

The high was expected to climb to 104 Wednesday and to 106 degrees Thursday. Friday may be the hottest at 107.

And it won’t cool off for the weekend. The high could be 103 to 104 Saturday through Monday.

This story was originally published August 2, 2017 at 10:21 AM with the headline "Stay inside. Tri-City air quality is unhealthy, officials warn."