WA wildfire smoke impacting Seattle air quality

[00:00:00]We do have team coverage for you this morning. Fox 13 Sean Chitnes is in Seattle as those temperatures are expected to rise into the 90s.

[00:00:08]>> Yeah, first we are going to turn straight to Steven Kilbr with a closer look at that forecast. What are you seeing out there?

[00:00:15]>> Yeah, definitely warm right now as we have those temperatures as you mentioned in the mid60s at the moment as you get ready to head out the door. And the heat advisory starts this morning. All the area you see here in orange under the heat advisory with those temperatures really getting warm. 85 out on the coast, mid 90s and upper 90s as you head to the south Puget Sound. Portland getting into triple digits today. So you can see this entire area under that heat advisory. And things are heating up with that wildfire danger as well to to today's high 91 for Seattle, 93 Wednesday. But there is relief on the way on Thursday where we drop down to 79° and have a little bit of a relief there. These green uh the the yellow dots are starting to pop up all over the place with the air quality issue that we're going to see with some wildfire smoke. And Sean is out this morning uh enjoying the uh the heat so far for the early day. Tell us what's going on out there, >> Stephen. Yeah, I mean it feels great right now and uh we have quite the view behind us. We can see a little bit of haze here uh from the west of Seattle and that gives us a sense of the conditions that we are concerned about, right? Both the air quality as well as the fire danger. Those are going to be things to follow closely over the next uh 24 to 48 hours. and air quality.

[00:01:27]That's not really been something we've had to worry about too much this summer.

[00:01:31]That's because of some favorable winds that have been uh working toward uh keeping that away from us. But now we do have those hazy skies that we're talking about here. And the air quality map for our state does show much of western Washington in that moderate category uh for air quality. parts of central and eastern Washington are up to uh that unhealthy level for sensitive groups and then in other areas just unhealthy overall. The forecast has some uh smoke through tomorrow. We could see that clearer air and cleaner air coming through later on on Wednesday, but air quality scientists have said they're still unsure about that. So, local health officials are asking you to use an air filter when possible in your home or look for cooling centers as well as libraries for relief in your community because you likely can't open the window depending on where you live. As for the fire danger, the DNR map that shows just how serious those conditions are puts half of our state in that very high category. That's mostly eastern Washington, but most of the state is either at that level or the high category, which is covering much of western Washington, including the Puet Sound area. One specific concern right now is when people are out enjoying the summer weather and using uh chains or straps for their trailers. You want to make sure that those are secured. If that metal hits the pavement, it could create some sparks. A couple more reminders for you. Again, uh just to be keeping an eye on that air quality index, also having a way to filter that air indoor and then of course limit your time outside as much as possible. Live in Seattle, Sean Jesus, Fox 13 News.

[00:03:12]>> Thank you, Sean. We are following multiple wildfires that are burning in Washington right now. The largest fire is burning uh in our state and it is Okonagan County. Since it sparked on Thursday, the Kaiser Canyon fire has grown to more than 62,000 acres. It is 0% contained. Officials say the fire started after a lightning strike and it is now threatening the town of Npilum and the sacred sites on the Cville Indian Reservation. While some evacuation orders have been downgraded overnight, many around the fire perimeter are being asked to get ready to leave their homes. Nearly 500 firefighters have been sent out to that area. And in Ferry County, the Modbreight fire has grown to more than 7700 acres near Lake Roosevelt. The fire started on Friday. It was also sparked by lightning. Officials have confirmed at least five structures have been damaged or destroyed by flames. Level three go now evacuation orders are in place as firefighters work to keep that fire south of Coyote Creek Road. And then over to southeast Washington where the Lions Ferry fires grown to now more than 34,000 acres. We know at least two people were hurt in that fire. They were treated and released from the hospital.

[00:04:28]So far, no reports of any homes or other buildings being damaged. The cause of that fire is believed to be natural.