SPOKANE, Wash.– Hazy skies settled in across the Inland Northwest on Thursday. Spokane Regional Clean Air Agency reported moderate air quality across the county. Air quality in Spokane Valley and the South Hill crept close to Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups during the early afternoon. Stations in North Idaho reported moderate air quality from the Camas Prairie to Eastport at the Canada border.
The culprit for the air quality issues are the numerous prescribed burns happening on public lands in both Idaho and Washington. Several prescribed burns are underway in Kootenai County which blew smoke across the state line and into Spokane Thursday morning.
MORE: Where prescribed burns are happening – North Idaho Forests – WA DNR – WA Forests
Spokane Clean Air also said they believe smoke from wood stoves is a part of the haze after some colder nights this week.
The November sunshine also explains why smoke and haze are building up around the Inland Northwest. High pressure keeps clouds and rain away, but also can create temperature inversions. That’s when a layer of warmer, sinking air traps cooler air below it. This happens frequently in our valleys this time of year, which keeps smoke and other pollutants trapped near the ground.
It will take a notable weather change to start mixing the stale air out of the valleys. That change is in the forecast for this weekend as winds pick up and rain returns to the region.
MORE: Latest First Alert Forecast
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