PORT ANGELES — Smoke from British Columbia wildfires that is blanketing the North Olympic Peninsula is expected to stick around a bit longer, according to the National Weather Service.
Art Gaebel, a weather service meteorologist in Seattle, said that without much wind expected, he anticipates the smoke will stick around for a “few more days.”
“The winds are going to be light for the next few days,” he said.
He couldn’t pinpoint a day he expects the smoke to dissipate because the weather service typically doesn’t deal with smoke.
“We forecast weather, not smoke,” he said.
That smoke is causing concern across the state about health risks related to the quality of air.
On Thursday morning, sensors in Port Angeles and Neah Bay recorded “unhealthy” air, according to the state Department of Ecology’s Air Monitoring Network.
Another sensor in Neah Bay recorded “very unhealthy air.”
A sensor in Port Townsend recorded air that was “unhealthy for sensitive groups.”
The only sensors in the state that recorded “moderate” air quality were in the Cascade Mountains.
An Ecology official said Wednesday that things could clear up occasionally along the Strait of Juan de Fuca due to winds, but he said people should generally expect smoke on the Peninsula.
Children, elderly and especially people with respiratory illnesses are most at risk of serious health effects and should limit outdoor activities, the official said.
Air quality for the next few days is expected to be “unhealthy” or “unhealthy for sensitive groups,” officials said.
Though the smoke is likely staying for a while, Gaebel said Thursday should have been the hottest day of the heat wave.
He anticipated seeing some heat records in the Puget Sound being broken Thursday.
He said the coast should expect temperatures in the low to mid-80s this weekend, with temperatures approaching the low 90s farther inland toward the Puget Sound.
Officials weren’t only watching the heat record Thursday.
Western Washington is on track to break the record for number of days without rain.
The longest stretch without rain was 51 days in 1951. Thursday was the 46th consecutive day without rain.
“We’re probably going to break that record,” Gaebel said.
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Reporter Jesse Major can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56250, or at jmajor@peninsuladailynews.com.
