Day 2 of Whatcom’s smoky haze — how dangerous is it, and when will it go away?

Whatcom County seems to be stuck in a dream — no matter how hard we try, or where we look, we’re surrounded in a foggy haze.

For the second straight day, the region has been enveloped in a thick, nasty cloud of smoke, limiting vision of our beautiful surroundings and turning sunlight into an ominous red.

Though we’ve gotten smoke from other sources this summer, such as California and Siberia, Northwest Clean Air Agency communications manager Seth Preston said most of the latest batch is the product of wildfires burning in western Canada. According to a story by the Vancouver Sun, there are nearly 600 fires burning in British Columbia.

Whatcom County is definitely feeling the effects.

As of 5 a.m. Tuesday, Whatcom air quality ranged from “unhealthy” to “unhealthy for sensitive groups,” according to the Department of Ecology’s Washington Air Monitoring Network.

The Bellingham air monitoring station checked in with an “unhealthy” Washington Air Quality Advisory rating of 153, including a fine particulate count of 42. The Custer-Loomis station was “unhealthy for sensitive groups” with a rating of 118 and a particulate count of 25.9, while Maple Falls was slightly worse with a rating of 149 and a 34.6 particulate count.

“People need to take care of themselves and their families,” Preston said Monday. “There are things people can do when air quality is poor, such as not mowing the lawn, except maybe in the morning or evening when it’s cooler and air quality levels aren’t so bad. ... If you are having problems breathing, call the local health department or other medical experts.”

The National Weather Service Seattle office offered these tips for dealing with the smoke:

▪ Be aware of current air quality conditions.

▪ Check on people who may be sensitive to the smoke, especially those with lung or heart diseases.

▪ Stay indoors if possible.

▪ Keep windows and doors closed.

▪ Use an air cleaner with a HEPA filter.

The good news is this round of smoke and haze may not stick around much longer.

According to a tweet from the National Weather Service, “Conditions are expected to improve late Tuesday night and Wednesday as surface flow shifts onshore.”

For Bellingham, the weather service is predicting the haze to clear Tuesday night, with sunny skies predicted for Wednesday through Saturday and high temperatures ranging from 81 on Wednesday to 76 the rest of the week.

This story was originally published August 14, 2018 at 9:12 AM.