Air quality in Spokane remained unhealthy on Monday as smoke blanketed the area
Sep. 13—Spokane's air quality index remained "unhelathy" all day on Monday as multiple fires around the state and in North Idaho and western Montana funneled smoke into the region.
The air quality index hovered between 160 and 180 at the Wellesly and Monroe monitoring station. Parts of the Idaho Panhandle, including Sandpoint and Priest River, spent Monday in the "very unhealthy" range, with the air quality readings between 205 and 220 Monday afternoon.
Smoke from the Kootenai River Complex fire and from Boulder Mountain was blown in from the northeast on Monday. A slow moving weather pattern was expected to provide slight relief on Tuesday, but not much, said Todd Carter, a National Weather Service meteorologist.
No matter which direction the wind blows, it's likely to push smoke from one of the surrounding fires, Carter said.
"I wouldn't pinpoint a single fire," said Department of Natural Resources spokesman Ryan Rodruck. "It's multiple fires in the region and the way the wind and weather and pressure patterns are working are holding it in Spokane."
Washington state is currently directing most of its efforts on quelling the Bolt Creek fire near Skykomish, which ignited over the weekend, Rodruck said. The fire is at 7,660 acres and 2% containment.
Fire crews are also still focusing on the Boulder Mountain fire in the Colville National Forest, which had reached 2,175 acres and 21% containment, as well as the Goat Rocks fire in south-central Washington, which had reached 2,842 acres and 0% containment, Rodruck said.
The Seven Bays fire, near Davenport, was winding down after reaching 100% containment on Monday, Rodruck said.
"We are seeing a pretty significant rise in those relative humidity rates. That's going to start to dampen some of that fuel, but the fuel on the ground is still very, very dry," Rodruck said. "There is still a lot of caution that needs to be used until we get that big season-ender rain event."
Rodruck said that usually happens before October.
"When Labor Day comes around I tend to breathe a sigh of relief," he said "That's obviously not the case here."
Another larger weather pattern is expected to move through the Northwest this coming weekend, but it's too early to say whether it will bring enough moisture to saturate the ground, Carter said.
"What were looking for is the system that knocks down the summer and keeps it down," Carter said.
People still carried on about their days in Spokane, despite the unhealthy air quality on Monday.
"It sucks because there's nothing you can do," said Thomas Solinsky, from atop his bike near the north end of the Monroe Street Bridge. "It's (bad) for some people, but if you're used to working out, it's not going to affect you as much,"
Solinsky, who is visiting from Nashville, and fellow bicyclist Rich McQuesten said that they stay active every day, so it doesn't bother them too much. The two men have spent the past few days of poor air quality running and biking. On Monday they completed a 25-mile ride.
"We used to play music in smoky bars, so it doesn't bother us all the time," McQuesten said.
Danica Bartnett walks a lot in Spokane and doesn't let the smoke dictate what she does unless it's significantly worse, she said.
"It's more just muggy and gross," the bartender at the Viking said. "But compared to the last couple of years, it's not as bad."
Spokane's air quality reached hazardous levels in September 2020 when the air quality index reached 499 out of a 500-point scale.
