PORT ANGELES — Smoke from British Columbia wildfires is expected to cover the North Olympic Peninsula well into next week.
That smoke, which has caused the state Department of Ecology to issue an air quality alert for much of the state, is coupled with a heat wave.
The Pacific coast and areas on the Strait of Juan de Fuca are facing a heat advisory.
Areas along the Hood Canal and in East Jefferson County are under an excessive heat warning until 9 p.m. Friday and a fire weather watch today.
Port Angeles had “unhealthy” air Wednesday afternoon while the air around Port Townsend and Neah Bay was “unhealthy for sensitive groups,” according to the state Department of Ecology’s Air Monitoring Network.
The Port Angeles sensor recorded “very unhealthy” air at 7 a.m.
That smoky air could stick around well into next week, said Ranil Dhammapala, an atmospheric scientist for Ecology.
“Unfortunately, there’s no big marine blast of air that’s going to come clear things out anytime soon,” he said.
Things could clear up occasionally along the Strait due to winds, but he said people should generally expect there to be smoke.
Children, elderly and especially those people with respiratory illnesses are the most at risk of serious health effects and should limit outdoor activities, he said.
Dhammapala said he expects air quality for the next few days to be considered “unhealthy” or “unhealthy for sensitive groups.”
He said the vast majority of the smoke is coming from the B.C. wildfires, though some could be from Washington fires.
Those seeking relief from the smoke should stay indoors. If there’s an air conditioner with a filter, that’s even better, Dhammapala said.
He said individuals who are sensitive to the smoke should contact their doctors.
“If you really have to go outside, there are masks that can be worn,” he said.
While the smoke can pose health risks, it has led at least one fire department to ask people not to call in fires unless there is a clear sign the fire is local.
Clallam County Fire District No. 2 is asking people to report possible fires only if they see a column of smoke rising in a specific area or concentrated thick smoke in an area.
Assistant Chief Mike DeRousie said District 2, the Port Angeles Fire Department, Olympic National Park and 9-1-1 dispatchers have been inundated with calls about the smoke.
“Unless you see a column of smoke or verified fire, don’t call it in,” he said. “We certainly appreciate people calling 9-1-1 when they see a fire.”
There are no active fires in Olympic National Park, the park said in a statement, but it warned that the Olympic Peninsula is “experiencing a critical fire weather pattern with very hot, dry and unstable conditions.”
There are no fire restrictions in the park now, but the park is asking people to be cautious after “numerous abandoned campfires were found over the past few weeks.”
DeRousie said that with the lack of rain this summer and the heat wave, he is concerned about the risk of fire and about people overheating.
He is urging people to stay hydrated and to bring plenty of water with them if they are hiking.
The fire district has stocked its vehicles with plenty of bottled water to help its firefighters stay hydrated if they do need to fight a fire.
Western Washington was on its 45th day without rain Wednesday and this year is on track to break the record for most consecutive days without rain, said Art Gaebel, a National Weather Service meteorologist.
The record — 51 days without rain — was set in 1951.
The heat advisory is in effect through 10 p.m. today.
The National Weather Service is warning that temperatures along the western Strait of Juan de Fuca and on the coast could be in the upper 80s and mid-90s. The further inland, the hotter it will be, according to the alert.
The smoke will block the heat and make it a couple degrees cooler than it would have been otherwise, Gaebel said.
The National Weather Service is urging people to drink plenty of fluids, seek air-conditioned places, stay out of the sun and check on relatives and neighbors.
For more information about the smoke and air quality, visit wasmoke.blogspot.com, a blog overseen by officials from multiple agencies.
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Reporter Jesse Major can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56250, or at jmajor@peninsuladailynews.com.
Curren Mehew, 8, and his sister, Penelope Mehew, 4, both of Port Angeles, beat the heat while floating at East Beach in Lake Crescent in Olympic National Park on Wednesday. Temperatures ranging from the upper 70s to mid-90s were expected across the North Olympic Peninsula through Saturday. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)
