Dirtiest in a decade. Smoky Tri-Cities air better but still very unhealthy

The Tri-Cities is seeing a bit of improvement in air quality, although it may not be evident by looking at the smoke blanketing the area.

The Washington state Department of Ecology said the air monitor in Kennewick shows air quality had dropped just below the hazardous level on Wednesday to a “very unhealthy” level.

Air quality had been rated as hazardous since Friday, even causing some flights at the Tri-Cities Airport to be delayed for the safety of airline workers having to be outside.

Researchers with Berkeley Earth calculated that spending Friday outside in the Seattle area was the equivalent of smoking almost nine cigarettes, reported the Seattle Times.

State Ecology officials are saying it’s by far the dirtiest air this region has seen in at least 15 years.

Everyone should still stay indoors, avoid all strenuous activity, and close windows and doors, according to the Washington state Department of Ecology.

And veterinarians at Washington State University are continuing to warn that the air is bad for pets, too.

Statewide, air quality was somewhat better on Wednesday, with much of the Interstate 5 corridor also improving to a rating of very unhealthy. Most places in the northwest corner of the state were improving to a rating of unhealthy.

The Tri-Cities area should continue to see some gradual improvement through Thursday, according to the National Weather Service.

Winds are starting to blow from the south and much of the smoke in the Tri-Cities has come from a massive plume of smoke from Western Oregon and Northern California fires.

The smoke initially moved to the Northwest over the Pacific Ocean and then the plume was pushed westward across Washington state and down the Columbia River Gorge.

Substantial improvement in the Tri-Cities air quality may not come until Friday and the weekend when a storm system is expected to move across the Mid-Columbia. Possible rain and increased wind are forecast.

The weather service predicts a 30% chance of rain Friday night in the Tri-Cities.

The smoke filling the skies should keep high temperatures as cool as the upper 70s and low 80s through Friday in the Tri-Cities, but the predicted storm system could drop highs into the mid 70s starting on the weekend and continuing into the early part of the work week.

Smokiest season

As bad as this week seemed for the entire state of Washington, 2017 and 2018 were worse in one way for air quality, according to the Washington state Department of Ecology.

Air quality was rated at least unhealthy somewhere in the state a little more than 40% of the time from June to mid-September in 2018 and close to 30% of the time during those months in 2017, according to Department of Ecology data.

But that drops to a little less than 20% of the time in the current wildfire season.

The difference is that the air quality has been worse in 2020, with more days when air quality was rated as hazardous.

“The amount of time we have spent breathing hazardous air is unprecedented,” said Ranil Dhammapala, of the Department of Ecology, posting on the Washington Smoke blog.

Looking back to 2006 no wildfire season had nearly as much time when air quality was rated as hazardous, he said.

“Take home message: Not the longest we’ve had to endure crummy air, but this is the dirtiest air we’ve had to breath as a state,” he posted. “And the season isn’t over yet.”

Airport travel

Airplanes are arriving on time at the Tri-Cities Airport after several flights were canceled during the weekend.

The number of canceled flights wasn’t available, but airports and airlines were looking to protect employees who needed to work in the smoke, said airport Director Buck Taft.

The visibility for planes coming and leaving the airport was similar to having cloud cover, he said. It hasn’t become difficult for pilots to see through.

This comes as Alaska Airlines plans to resume flights at Portland and Spokane airports Wednesday afternoon after a 24-hour suspension. Conditions in both of the cities were hazardous in recent days.

The delay was put in place to implement new safety protocols for their employees, according to a statement from the Seattle-based airline. They now will have access to N95 face masks.

The airline’s safety and operations teams worked with medical professionals from the University of Washington to develop the plan.

Pasco employees will be following the same protocols, along with employees at the other locations such as Eugene, Medford, Redmond/Bend and Walla Walla.

Smoke and pets

The air isn’t just unhealthy for people, it is bad for pets, say Washington State University veterinarians.

“I would take the same precautions for pets that you would take for you and your family,” said Jessica Bell, a small animal veterinarian at WSU’s College of Veterinary Medicine.

Pets should spend little, if any, time outside, and that includes keeping dogs from hanging their heads out of car windows, she said.

Water bowls should be changed often, particularly those outdoors, as they can pick up pollutants. Animals that drink from a contaminated water bowl may be hesitant to drink from it again, she said.

Older pets and pets with respiratory conditions need increased monitoring.

“Look for any discomfort, coughing, heaving breathing,” she said.

Larger animals also can suffer from the smoke.

The Benton Conservation District is posting information on social media from TheHorse.com, saying that owners should limit the activity of their horses during smoky weather.

This story was originally published September 16, 2020 at 12:19 PM.