Fire danger rises, Tri-City air already smoky

Already smoky air and a red flag fire warning are not a good combination for the Tri-City area.

The National Weather Service on Wednesday added a fire warning to its air quality alert for the Tri-Cities.

The air quality in the Tri-Cities Wednesday was in the range considered unhealthy for some people, according to information from the Benton Clean Air Agency. Children, older people and those with chronic illnesses should limit time outdoors.

Smoke from Oregon fires continued to move over the Tri-City area Wednesday.

As the wind is expected to shift on Thursday to come from the Northwest, there could be some brief air quality relief, but smoke from other Northwest fires then may move into the Mid-Columbia, according to the Washington State Department of Ecology posting on the Washington Smoke Information blog.

The air quality alert is in effect until 10 a.m. Thursday.

The risk of wildfires in the Tri-Cities is increasing with breezes up to 13 mph and gust up to 18 mph forecast in the Tri-Cities Wednesday through the evening.

The combination of light winds, low humidity and a high forecast in the mid-90s prompted the weather service to issue a red flag fire warning from 2 to 9 p.m. Wednesday.

Keep vehicles off dry grass, properly discard cigarettes and obey burn bans to help prevent a fire that could spread quickly, advises the weather service.

More hot weather is forecast.

Thursday could be the coolest day of the week with a high of 91 degrees in the Tri-Cities. Temperatures should peak at about 101 degrees on Sunday in the Tri-Cities, according to the weather service.

This story was originally published August 30, 2017 at 11:50 AM with the headline "Fire danger rises, Tri-City air already smoky."