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Meanwhile, as much as the smoke and haze is a concern, Seattle also now has too many days when the bad air has nothing to do with wind currents and burning forests in places like Skykomish.
Recent measurements from IQAir show Seattle logging more than twice the allowable number of days with unhealthy air, according to US Environmental Protection Agency guidelines.
Those bad air days fall into two categories — half of them, IQAir says, are due to particulate matter in the air from events like longer, more intense wildfires.
The Washington Department of Natural Resources which manages state fire suppression efforts including controlled forest burning says the response to the Bolt Creek Fire which has dragged on due to a historically dry October is by the books despite the wildfire’s impact on air quality around the more densely populated areas of Puget Sound.
A DNR spokesperson tells CHS the response strategy comes down to suppressing a fire in a remote area where homes and property around Skykomish are not threatened. Continue reading
