Worst-in-US air quality at ‘Mordor’ levels in this Washington town, NWS says
A Washington town claimed the No. 1 spot in the U.S. for poor air quality early Thursday as wildfires burned tens of thousands of acres in the area, officials said.
Thursday morning, Winthrop’s air quality was listed as “hazardous” on the Air Quality Index’s real-time map, the National Weather Service in Spokane tweeted.
The country’s worst air quality
The town had the poorest air quality in the country, at one point reaching a score of 415, according to the AQI. An area’s air quality is considered to have more serious health effects for everyone if it has a a score over 300.
While the air quality began to improve around 10 a.m., it was still considered to be “very unhealthy,” with a score of 224, according to the AQI. The air quality was predicted to reach 456 Thursday.
The NWS Spokane Twitter page compared the air quality to that of Mordor, the realm of evil in J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings.”
Raging wildfires in the area
The air quality deteriorated as two large wildfires raged just miles from town in the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest: the Cub Creek 2 fire (35,134 acres) and the Cedar Creek fire (18,634 acres), according to the Incident Information System.
Both fires have prompted level 2 and level 3 evacuations in areas of Okanogan County, county Emergency Management said on Facebook.
Level 2 evacuations means residents in the area should “be ready” to leave, and level 3 means “evacuate immediately,” according to Okanogan County’s website.
Tips for staying healthy in poor air quality
The American Lung Association offers 10 tips to help people stay healthy when air quality is poor:
- Check daily air pollution forecasts in your area.
- Avoid exercising outdoors when pollution levels are high.
- Always avoid exercising near high-traffic areas.
- Use less energy in your home.
- Encourage your child’s school to reduce exposure to school bus emissions.
- Walk, bike or carpool. Combine trips. Use alternatives to driving your car.
- Don’t burn wood or trash.
- Use hand-powered or electric lawn care equipment rather than gasoline-powered.
- Don’t allow anyone to smoke indoors and support measures to make all public places tobacco-free.
- Get involved. Start by checking out our Healthy Air Campaign which has more information about what you can do.