See latest updates at airnow.gov
A hopefully short bout of heavily hazy skies will mark the start of this summer’s smoke season in Seattle this week with forecasts for unhealthy air quality Monday and Tuesday.
Several large, uncontained wildfires in remote central British Columbia and ongoing active fires in North-Central Washington and along the Cascades are contributing to the smoke now stacking up here as northerly weather patterns take hold.
The National Weather Service says increasing low level onshore flow at the end of the week will bring cooler temperatures and less smoke.
Our cousins on the east side of the state are having a much rougher go. A series of fast-moving wildfires have swept through the Spokane area, driving what officials describe as the worst natural disaster in the region’s history. Fueled by high temperatures and strong wind gusts, the blazes have reportedly already destroyed more than 600 homes and businesses, and forced approximately 60,000 residents to evacuate.
2025 brought a relatively moderate smoke season to Seattle that didn’t arrive until late September.
Seattle’s September 2024 and August 2023 summer smoke seasons were limited to a few stretches of haze and an “unhealthy” weekend or three.
In 2022, the seriously unhealthy air arrived in September as the smoke seasons shift from year to year.
CHS looked here at the issues around fighting the fires in deep, hard to access wilderness areas, the benefits to letting nature take its course, and why we’ll likely see more large wildfires that impact air conditions around Seattle.
CHS also examined what Seattle leaders need to do to better prepare the city for smoky summers including clean air shelters and new rules to protect workers.
You can see the latest air quality readings and forecasts at airnow.gov.
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