Tri-Cities air ‘hazardous’ after ‘super massive’ smoke cloud chokes WA state

Smoke was pouring into the Tri-Cities area on Friday as a “super-massive” body of smoke moved into Washington state from the southwest, according to the Washington state Department of Ecology.

The Tri-Cities also was still getting smoke from the Cold Springs fire to the north near Omak, which had burned 87,689 acres and was only 25% contained Friday morning.

The air quality in the Tri-Cities by Friday afternoon was rated as “hazardous” on the Department of Ecology’s scale.

It’s expected to stay bad into the weekend as an inversion may trap the smoke over the Tri-Cities.

The “hazardous” rating is the second in a few days, according to information from the Benton Clean Air Agency. Air quality was rated as hazardous on Labor Day in the Tri-Cities.

In Western Washington, where the mass of smoke had moved in from the Pacific Coast, the air quality was rated as hazardous, Ecology’s worst rating, for much of Friday.

Winds from the west were starting to blow the smoke down the Columbia River Gorge into the Tri-Cities on Friday morning.

The air smelled smoky and in some places in the Tri-Cities visibility was reduced to only a city block by late morning.

Weekend forecast

The Department of Ecology has issued a statewide air quality alert through the weekend and Benton County Clean Air Agency issued a local alert through at least Monday.

On Monday a cold front is expected to move into the state and could help disperse some of the smoke.

The cooler weather and rain it should bring will help firefighters.

Calmer winds and hazy skies that kept temperatures cooler on Thursday helped firefighters in the Northwest make progress on Thursday, according to the Department of Ecology.

Health concerns

The Washington state Department of Health said it was concerned that breathing the smoke will worsen symptoms of COVID-19 patients. Both COVID-19 and breathing in smoke impact respiratory and immune systems.

Smoke also can make people more susceptible to respiratory infections, like COVID-19, said the Department of Health.

Some people most vulnerable to wildfire smoke, like those over 65 or with pre-existing conditions, are also those most at risk for serious impacts from COVID-19.

Dr. Amy Person, health officer for the Benton Franklin Health District, is concerned that people who may be newly infected with the coronavirus attribute symptoms such as coughing, wheezing and shortness of breath to the smoky air and put off getting tested.

Timely testing helps identify who is infected and those they may have infected to limit the spread of the disease.

Tri-Cities area residents can check current air quality at bentoncleanair.org, which posts a graphic showing the level of smoke and dust in the air at a monitor in Kennewick.

The state departments of health and ecology give this tips to protect your health:

▪ Stay indoors, advice that’s particularly important for children, older adults, pregnant women and those with health conditions such as diabetes, a history of stroke, lung disease or heart disease. Limit strenuous activity indoors.

▪ Close your windows and doors to reduce intake of smoke. However, ventilation is good for helping prevent COVID-19, so when air quality is good, open them to get fresh air and reduce potential viral load.

▪ Improve filtration of indoor air in your home and create a clean air room where you spend most of your time. Making your own box fan filter can be a less expensive option to filter air and improve indoor air quality in a single room. Filtering indoor air is an effective way to reduce fine particles from wildfire smoke.

▪ Avoid burning candles or incense, smoking inside, frying or broiling, or vacuuming unless your vacuum has a HEPA filter.

▪ Wear your cloth face covering to slow the spread of COVID-19. While cloth face coverings may help a small amount with smoke, they won’t filter out the fine particles or hazardous gasses. N95 respirators, if fitted and worn properly, can reduce exposure to wildfire smoke, but as the supply remains limited, these need to be reserved for workers that are required to wear them for their job.

This story was originally published September 11, 2020 at 12:13 PM.