Smoke may stick around for a few days
Smoke hangs over Moses Lake Monday evening. Smoky conditions are expected to linger as fires continue to burn in Eastern Washington.
Cheryl Schweizer/Columbia Basin Herald
MOSES LAKE — Nearby wildfires north and south of Grant County have made their presence known by the smoke coming and going, depending on the wind. Meanwhile, other fires are burning around the West.
In Moses Lake and along state Route 17, the smoke was thick Wednesday morning but had moved out by the afternoon, but that’s probably not the last of it.
“We still have some warm days ahead that will probably keep the smoke around,” said Steven Van Horn, meteorologist with the National Weather Service Office in Spokane.
Most of the smoke in Grant County on Wednesday came from the Cold Spring Canyon-Pearl Hill Fire that started Sunday night near Omak in Okanogan County. By Monday afternoon, the fire, driven by high winds, had crossed the Columbia River and burned south to the Douglas County-Grant County line, a distance of about 80 miles.
As of Wednesday afternoon, the fire had burned about 337,000 acres. The Okanogan County portion (the Cold Spring Fire) was at 10 percent containment Wednesday afternoon.
The Douglas County portion, called the Pearl Hill Fire, was at 10 percent containment, said public information officer Wayne Patterson, with full containment projected for Monday.
The current weather pattern means winds generally are out of the east, Van Horn said, and when the winds come from that direction the smoke generally pools along the east slopes of the Cascade Mountains.
The smoke isn’t good for anyone – it causes headaches and eye irritation, wheezing and coughing, and shortness of breath. People with underlying heart conditions and respiratory conditions are at greater risk for serious complications. Pregnant women, people who smoke and people with diabetes also are at increased risk.
Grant County Health District has issued guidelines to avoid exposure, starting with staying indoors. The GCHD recommends keeping indoor air as clean as possible by shutting windows and doors, closing the air intake on the air conditioner and cleaning its filter regularly.
People should minimize outdoor activity if they are in higher-risk categories. The Washington Department of Ecology maintains a website, https://enviwa.ecology.wa.gov/home/map, where people can check air quality.
Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at cschweizer@columbiabasinherald.com.