Yes, smoke from Canadian wildfires is back — here’s how dangerous Whatcom’s air is
While we take great delight in complaining about Canadian drivers, anybody who’s lived in Whatcom County the past two summers knows that’s not the worst export from our neighbors to the north.
Bad breathing conditions caused by the seemingly endless chimney of British Columbia wildfire smoke belching over the border and ruining our glorious summer weather trumps bad drivers.
Whatcom County choked through an endless cloud of smoke through much of August in 2017, and in case you didn’t notice the red disk in the sky in place of the sun this morning or the fact that Lummi Island has completely vanished, we’re once again trapped in the haze.
We are starting to see the effects of the smoke according to the Washington State Department of Ecology Air Monitoring Network. As of 10 a.m. Monday, the Bellingham monitoring site shows that conditions have dropped into the “unhealthy” range with a Washington Air Quality Advisory value of 153, with particulate matter the primary cause.
Whatcom County’s other measuring stations in Maple Falls and near Ferndale also were showing the effects of the smoke. The Maple Falls monitoring station also is at “unhealthy” levels with a WAQA value of 152, while the station near Ferndale is “unhealthy for sensitive groups” with a WAQA rating of 109.
“The Department of Ecology says that right now there is visible smoke, but most of it is aloft,” Northwest Clean Air communications manager Seth Preston said. “It’s at a high enough level that we’re not breathing it at ground level. That very well could change. It doesn’t take long for conditions to change.”
What does that mean for Bellingham’s outdoors lovers?
“People need to be aware and take the steps they feel are necessary to take care of themselves and their families,” Preston said. “It’s probably going to get hot this week. That means with the smoke, it makes it harder to breathe. We’re recommending people cut back on their outdoor activities if possible and take precautions.”
Though we’ve had smoke from California, Oregon and even as far away as Siberia at different points this summer, Preston said the haze we’re experiencing now is indeed coming from the British Columbia fires.
“Last year we got pounded by high pressure and didn’t have any wind other than what was blowing the smoke in from the north, so it just sat here,” Preston said. “Hopefully that doesn’t happen again, but unfortunately, there’s not a whole lot we can do about it.”
Fortunately, Mother Nature may soon cooperate. Ecology’s Washington smoke blog post Monday is predicting “westerly winds should return on Wednesday and clear out any lingering smoke.”
The National Weather Service Seattle office is predicting the haze could clear Tuesday night. Temperatures in Bellingham are supposed to reach 83 on Tuesday, before dipping into the upper 70s the rest of the work week.
But Canadian fire conditions could continue to make smoke a problem throughout the rest of the summer. According to the Vancouver Sun, more than a 145 new blazes started due to “wicked weather” over the weekend, bringing the total to nearly 600 active wildfires in the province.
This story was originally published August 13, 2018 at 12:02 PM.