Northwestern cites rank for dirtiest air quality

Reprinted with permission from IQAir

Washington Wildfires

Several wildfires erupted through the state of Washington on Monday, September 8. Fanned by 50 mile-per-hour winds and fueled by an abundance of dry timber, the fires burned through more than 580,000 acres, in less than 72 hours.1 That number is significant. Before this, 2015 was the state’s most destructive wildfire season, with 500,000 burned acres. 2020 bested this record in three days.

Of the 37 active fires burning in Washington on Tuesday, September 9, the two largest are the 174,000-acre Pearl Hill Fire, in Douglas County, and the 163,000-acre Cold Springs Fire near Omak. Both are at zero percent containment.2

Three fires currently burning in Whitman County have burned 32 square miles, or more than 20,000 acres, including:

The Babbs Fire: 17,781 scorched acres, 0 percent contained

The Manning Fire: 3,063 scorched acres, 25 percent contained

The Colfax Fire: 5 scorched acres, fully contained

The small town of Malden, Washington, which belongs to Whitman County, was almost completely leveled on Tuesday, with roughly 80 percent of its structures destroyed. Pine city has also suffered significant damage. The most recent report estimates that these three fires have burned 91 homes, 8 commercial properties and 90 other structures.

Public Lands Commissioner Hillary Franz described the situation as, “one of the worst nightmares we can imagine”.

More than 1,500 firefighters are on the frontlines, fighting wildfires in every corner of the state. The National Guard has additionally been called on to assist, though resources are expected to be spread thin with devastating wildfires burning in California, Oregon and Colorado.

No deaths or injuries have been reported as of Wednesday, September 10.

Impact on Air Quality

Easterly winds have carried plumes of smoke from wildfires toward the Puget Sound area where most of the state’s population resides. More than 5 million residents are on their third day of air pollution levels classified as “unhealthy” for the general public.

On September 8th at noon, Seattle topped the IQAir major city ranking for worst air pollution globally, with an air quality index of 193. Seattle largely held its position in the top ten for 48 hours, continually beating notorious New Delhi air quality and Beijing air quality for highest overall AQI.

Washington wildfires burning in the western and northernmost part of the state have also affected air pollution levels in Canada, with some smoke carried more than 200 miles from the source. On Tuesday September 8, air quality levels in Richmond, Canada and Vancouver, Canada hit highs of AQI 150+, “unhealthy.”

Washington wildfire smoke currently presents the greatest risks to:

Seattle air quality: Reached a high daily average of AQI 155 on Monday, September 7, more than 2.5 times the WHO daily target for PM2.5 exposure. Seattle’s air quality index reached

Olympia air quality: Reached a high daily average of AQI 123 on Tuesday, September 8. Hourly measurements peaked at AQI 152 at 11pm that day.

Tacoma air quality: Reached a high daily average of AQI 152 on Tuesday, September 8. Hourly measurements peaked from 9pm to 11pm that day, with an AQI 164.

Vancouver, Canada air quality: Reached a high hourly average of AQI 152 on Tuesday, September 8, at 2pm PST.

Wildfires release a range of air toxins including particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10), carbon monoxide, and nitrogen dioxide. Among these, fine particulate matter, or PM2.5, is most often present at the riskiest levels to health.

PM2.5 is airborne matter measuring 2.5 micrograms or smaller, such as near microscopic particles of dust, soot and ash. It is categorized by its size, rather than its chemical composition because PM2.5 is so small, it can penetrate deep into the lungs, and even into the circulatory system, causing far reaching health effects. Exposure to PM2.5 has been linked to adverse health effects including chest pain, arrhythmias, bronchitis, heart and lung disease, cancer and early death.

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) uses an air quality index (AQI) to translate pollutant concentrations to a relatable scale for risk to health. The scale ranges from 0 to 500, where 0 to 50 is considered “good,” 51 and 100 is “moderate,” 101 to 150 is “unhealthy for sensitive groups,” 151 to 200 is “unhealthy,” 201 to 300 is “very unhealthy,” and 301 to 500 is considered “hazardous.”

Oregon Wildfires

Dozens of fires are ravaging Oregon’s forested valleys and coastlines, in what may become the state’s deadliest and most destructive wildfire season yet.4 More than 3,000 firefighters are working the frontlines of Oregon’s 48 blazes which have burned through more than 500 square miles, or more than 320,000 acres.

High winds have whipped flames across thousands of acres, making firefighting difficult. Governor Kate Brown tweeted on Wednesday, “Our number-one priority right now is saving lives.”

The town of Detroit in the Santiam Valley, Blue River and Vida in coastal Lane County, and Phoenix and Talent in southern Oregon, have been substantially destroyed, according to Gov. Brown.

Firefighters are hoping changes in the wind on Thursday will allow for containment. The past two days have had strong 50 mile-per-hour easterly winds blowing west. Normally, however, wind blows in from the Pacific Ocean at gentler speeds.

Impact on Air Quality

The quantity and close proximity of Oregon’s wildfires have had dramatic effects on the air quality of Oregon’s largest coastal cities. Images of red skies and less than 10-feet of visibility have been shared widely across the internet.

Eugene notably, a city of 170,000, is on its third day of air quality reading “very unhealthy” or worse. Tuesday and Wednesday averaged “hazardous” air quality readings, with AQIs of 384 and 331 respectively. Until wind direction changes and the fires are contained, dangerous levels of air pollution are expected throughout the region.

California Wildfires:

Cities in Northern California like Castro Valley and Hayward faced dangerous levels of air quality, breaking into some of the highest ratings for dangerous air pollution on the Air Quality Index (AQI): 200+: considered “unhealthy” and linked to health risks for anyone exposed to this level of air pollution). 300+: considered “hazardous”, with air pollution levels reaching emergency conditions that can cause long-term health effects even after short periods of exposure).

Large swathes of the southern Bay Area, home to famous tech hubs like San Jose, Cupertino, and Mountain View, experienced air quality well into the 200s and 300s, prompting local officials to set up clean air and cooling centers and declare emergency alerts as well as evacuation orders.1,2

Cities as far away as Truckee near Lake Tahoe, CA also experienced extreme PM2.5 air pollution as a result of smoke drifting from Northern California through California and Nevada.

Cities far south of the Bay Area also faced elevated air pollution levels as wildfire smoke traveled hundreds of miles from Northern California fires down the California Coast – typically pristine wine country resort towns like Paso Robles and wealthy beachside destinations like San Luis Obispo experienced dangerous PM2.5 pollution from the Bay Area fires.

These Northern California fires were the first major blazes of the 2020 wildfire season in mid-August for the region, with several major fires breaking out during the week of August 16-22, 2020 with containment slow to progress as blazes began burning out control in a matter of days.