Preparing for a hazy season as wildfire smoke trickles into Puget Sound
Preparing for wildfire season as smoke trickles into Puget Sound
Smoke from nearly 100 wildfires burning in Canada has made its way into our area—and while the air quality isn't bad just yet, it's only a matter of time.
SEATTLE - Smoke from nearly 100 wildfires burning in Canada has made its way into our area, and while the air quality isn't bad just yet, experts warn this is an early start to the hazy season.
FOX 13 News spoke with Puget Sound Clearn Air Agency scientist Phil Swartzendruber, who says while it's early for our area to be seeing this kind of smoke, it’s never too early to prepare yourself for poor air quality, should wildfires start to pop up here in our region.
Western Washington woke up to hazy skies Wednesday morning.
Smoke is rolling into the region from 91 fires burning in Canada. It's covering up our blue skies, but luckily, it's not having a significant impact on our breathing—at least for now.
"The air quality on the ground right now, we’re not seeing much of an impact, and we don’t really expect it, at least for the next day or two," said Swartzendruber.
Swartzendruber says this is the earliest he remembers seeing significant wildfire smoke in the area.
"We can kind of think about this as a bit of a warning shot from Mother Nature, a wake-up call, letting us know wildfire season is coming," he said, "so we should really think about getting ourselves prepared for that."
Swartzendruber says that the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency works with other state, local government and federal agencies to monitor the situation and get information out to the public about how severe of an impact the smoke is having on our air we breathe.
"Maybe you got to think about having to pack a mask with your sunscreen and your hat and your sunglasses," said Swartzendruber.
"Last year, we bought a couple of air filters to put in our home and just to help with the smoke," said Chris Thomas.
Residents like Thomas say you can never be too prepared. He plans to continue to use air filters and keep the windows shut as a precaution.
"It’s a bit of a bummer, super early this year," said Thomas. "It’s honestly really sad that we live in a world where that’s the case, but I think, personally, it’s just going to keep getting worse."
King County Public Health says those most vulnerable to air quality conditions are pregnant women, outdoor workers, elderly people, children and people with underlying health conditions.
Addison Houston with King County Public Health says they are advising people to get air filters, and the department is already working with homeless care providers to make sure they have adequate air filtration for people who may not have access on their own.
"Now is actually the best time you will have to prepare, we’re well ahead of wildfire smoke season really getting underway," said Houston. He says if you can’t buy an air filter, you can make one at home.
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Instructions on how to improve your home's air filtration can be found on the King County Public Health website.