THERE’S SMOKE! But where’s the fire? It’s hundreds of miles away.
Clallam County emergency dispatchers have fielded dozens of reports that the air smelled and looked smoky today, but the source is in eastern Washington.
The phenomenon is common across the western region of the state as easterly winds blow wildfire fumes across the Cascade Mountains.
“It definitely has been the big weather story for the day across most of western Washington,” said Logan Johnson, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Seattle.
“In some places it’s been bad enough to produce some unhealthy air-quality conditions.”
The air quality in Port Townsend and Port Angeles late this afternoon was rated as moderate by the state Department of Ecology as the horizon smudged over from the wildfires.
“We’re just getting a taste of what they’re having back there,” Johnson said.
Brian Smith, deputy chief of Port Angeles police, said people should ascertain something nearby actually is on fire before they call 9-1-1 to report smoke or its smell.
“None of them are actual fires,” Smith said of the 20 to 30 reports he said had been logged by Clallam County Fire District 2 and the Port Angles Fire Department, with another 10 or more reports to Clallam County Fire District 3.
“We want to make people aware that calling the fire department or 9-1-1 in these circumstances is not wise,” Smith said.
