Wildfires elsewhere bring fear of smokey conditions in Whatcom County

WHATCOM COUNTY, Wash. — Large wildfires are currently burning, some having been burning for weeks, in eastern Washington including a medium sized fire, named the Easy Fire, responsible for closing the North Cascades Highway (SR20). Other highways are being reported as closed by the Washington State Department of Transportation.

Traffic impacts aside, people in western Washington, including Whatcom County are monitoring these fires given the potential for windblown smoke to creep into the area.

You can see on this forecast for near-surface smoke concentration, the several active wildfires that are the source for the smoke many in the western portions of the nation are dealing with today/tonight. Air quality alerts are in effect for many. See if your area is impacted at… pic.twitter.com/xBxpTYyZaY— National Weather Service (@NWS) July 25, 2024

As indicated in the animation above, westerly winds have been able to push the wildfire smoke eastward, away from western Washington. This has resulted in air quality in the GOOD range across the county.

Air quality sensors across Whatcom County at 4pm on July 25, 2024. Easy wildfire is shown in the bottom right. Source: Airnow.

Current extended weather forecasts say to expect mostly light southwesterly, westerly and northwesterly winds across Whatcom County over the next 7 days.