SEATTLE — Air quality is expected to worsen across western Washington this weekend as wildfire smoke blankets the region.
Winds shifted overnight Friday into Saturday morning, bringing smoke into western Washington, according to the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency (PSCAA). Wildfire smoke reached the north Sound on Saturday morning and continued to move south throughout the day.
According to PSCAA's air quality map, much of Seattle reached "unhealthy" levels for all groups Sunday afternoon.
Air quality levels registered as moderate for many places in the Puget Sound area Saturday with some unhealthy readings on the Olympic Peninsula, according to PSCAA data.
The worst air quality will be in areas north of Everett and in the North Cascade foothills in Whatcom and Skagit counties, Nunley said. The coast of Whatcom County is expected to see the worst air quality in the Puget Sound area.
An Air Quality Alert was issued for most of western Washington. It will remain in effect until Monday at noon.
Smoke is coming from the Sourdough and Blue Lake fires burning in the North Cascades, along with wildfires burning in Canada. As of Friday, the Sourdough Fire has burned 4,532 acres and is 11% contained; the Blue Lake Fire has burned 215 acres, according to InciWeb.
A wildfire near Kelowna, British Columbia forced evacuations and burned homes Friday after it grew “exponentially worse” overnight. The wildfire is over 16,803 acres, according to the Canadian Wildland Fire Information System.
Canada has seen a record number of wildfires this year — contributing to choking smoke in parts of the U.S. — with more than 5,700 fires burning more than 33.9 million acres from one end of Canada to the other, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre.
This round of smoky air is expected to be short-lived in western Washington. A weak weather system is expected to move in from the northwest increasing onshore winds later on Sunday, pushing cooler and smoke-free air into western Washington for the next week.
Relief will come to the Washington coast first before pushing into Puget Sound and the foothills, Nunley said. Residents can expect air quality improvements Monday and Tuesday.
This is one of the first significant smoke events western Washington has experienced this summer. So far this year, Nunley said wind patterns and a lack of major fires within Washington have helped keep Puget Sound’s air quality good.
Air quality health impacts
Isha Khanna, air resource specialist with PSCCA, said people could potentially feel some health impacts if exposed to the air quality, especially people in sensitive groups.
"When I say sensitive population it's anyone, infants, children, people over 65 or those with any preexisting health conditions," Khanna said.
While people in sensitive groups may feel impacts from poor air quality more quickly, prolonged exposure to unhealthy air can have negative impacts on anyone.
Negative symptoms include chest pain, coughing, fast heartbeat, headaches, irritated sinuses, stinging eyes and trouble breathing.
Experts recommend people stay inside this weekend.
"Stay indoors with your windows and doors closed, it's good to have your HVAC on recirculate mode, so you keep smokey air out of your home and use filter fans or air purifiers if you have them available," Khanna said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.