The Seattle skyline looked hazy due to wildfire smoke that caused moderate air quality.
SEATTLE — Wildfire smoke created hazy skies in the Seattle area on Thursday and gave the sun and moon a red, fiery glow.
Most of the wildfire smoke is expected to stay aloft, which won’t significantly deteriorate air quality at the surface. However, with high pressure in place, it could bring some of the smoke down to the surface, according to KING 5 Meteorologist Ashley Ruiz.
Air quality is expected to measure in the moderate range for most of the Puget Sound area Thursday, with parts of the Olympic Peninsula and coast expected to have good air quality, according to AirNow. It is expected to remain moderate for the next couple of days before rain chances return to the Puget Sound forecast Saturday through Tuesday.
Moderate air quality could be a risk for some people who are unusually sensitive to air pollution.
Forecast models show the wildfire smoke is moving into the lowlands and foothills from Canada. As of the end of August, there were 31 fires burning uncontrolled across Canada, according to Natural Resources Canada. So far this year, the fires have burned over 19 million acres.
Several wildfires continue to burn across Washington state as well. The Bear Gulch Fire near Lake Cushman on the Olympic Peninsula has burned over 9,000 acres. In the Cascades, the Pomas Fire west of Lake Chelan has burned over 3,500 acres, and the Sugarloaf Fire near Entiat has burned over 6,000 acres as of Thursday morning.
The smoke also caused the nearly-full moon and the sun to appear bright red. The region is days away from September’s full moon, which is dubbed the Corn Moon. The full moon rises Sept. 7.
Wildfire haze is expected to remain in place until the next system or onshore flow arrives to push it out.
Over the weekend, high pressure is expected to drift east, and a low-pressure system that’s expected to develop off the coast could bring clouds and the potential for rain. The timing of this system is uncertain, Ruiz said, but showers are expected early next week.
