SEATTLE — The air quality around Puget Sound improved significantly after several days of being blanketed by wildfire smoke. Increasing onshore winds are clearing the wildfire smoke out of western Washington.
An Air Quality Alert that was in effect for most of western Washington due to the wildfire smoke expired Sunday evening.
Air quality in the Puget Sound region could remain "good" for at least a few days, according to the latest Department of Ecology's smoke forecast. As of 6 a.m. Monday, the air quality was “good” or “moderate” for western Washington, according to the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency.
Between Aug. 16 and 18, the smoke forecast from Ecology shows "good" air quality for most of the region. The exception is "moderate" air quality around Port Townsend beginning Aug. 18.
Air quality could diminish again for several areas on Aug. 19, including in Snohomish County, according to the smoke forecast.
More dry weather is currently expected next weekend. Currently, it's "tough to say" if wildfire smoke will again make its way to the surface and impact air quality, according to the National Weather Service. As of Aug. 16, Ecology's smoke forecast did not extend into the weekend.
Meanwhile, wildfire danger remains high to very high west of the Cascades and extreme to the east. A statewide burn ban remains in effect for all forest land under fire protection from the Department of Natural Resources. King, Snohomish, and Pierce counties upgraded their burn bans to include all outdoor recreational fires - some outdoor cooking is still allowed.