SPOKANE, Wash. — A shift in the wind direction could end up being good news for those who are sick of hazy summer skies. Winds will be out of the north and east through Saturday.
Most wildfires in the Inland Northwest are either west of Spokane in the Cascades or south of the city in the Blue Mountains, Clearwater Mountains, and Eastern Oregon. Winds from the northeast should push smoke from these fires west across the Cascades and into coastal cities instead of the Inland Northwest.
As of Wednesday evening, the risk for smoke getting carried down from Canada by these winds are low. Thunderstorms in the Northern Rockies could change that equation with new fire starts, but there are no large fires immediately upwind in British Columbia and Alberta. There was a lot of smoke over the Canadian prairies from fires in Saskatchewan on Wednesday, including the city of Calgary. Winds over the plains will begin to turn to the northwest starting Thursday night which should push any of the prairie smoke back north and away from the United States.
Winds locally will return to out of the southwest on Sunday, which will eventually return smoke conditions to what we’ve experienced most of the summer.
The Swawilla Fire will continue to cause air quality concerns in Okanogan County, even with the wind shift. Air quality alerts remain in place for Okanogan and Ferry counties in Washington.
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