Wildfire smoke still fouling the air in Eastern Washington
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) - Major wildfires burning on the eastern slopes of the Cascade Range were relatively calm on Monday, but smoke continued to foul the air of many Eastern Washington communities.
The two biggest fires were reported as larger in size on Monday, but officials said that was due mostly to better mapping and the use of burn-outs to create fire lines. The Wenatchee complex of fires was reported Monday morning at 82 square miles, and 30 percent contained, while the Table Mountain fire was reported at nearly 57 square miles in size, and 10 percent contained.
"The big fires continue to creep on some uncontained edges," said Alan Hoffmeister, a spokesman on the Wenatchee complex.
Only a handful of structures have burned.
More than 2,500 firefighters battled those blazes on Monday, he said. They continued setting burn-outs on Monday to build lines around the fires, he said.
The huge fires are hurting air quality across Eastern Washington.
State officials said air quality in the Wenatchee and Cashmere areas remains in the "hazardous" category, while Pateros, Entiat and Ellensburg had air rated as "very unhealthy." Many other Eastern Washington communities have "unhealthy" air quality. Heavy smoke hung in the air of Spokane, 200 miles to the east of the blazes, turning the sun a bright red color at times.
The smoke is being held in place by inversions.
"We don't have a 'worse than hazardous' category," state Department of Ecology spokeswoman Jani Gilbert said. People who live in hazardous air areas should stay indoors and keep doors and windows closed, she said.
The heavy smoke was hampering aerial firefighters, Hoffmeister said.
"Half the time they can't fly because of the smoke," he said.
Fire crews also seem to be suffering.
"I was in the dining tent this morning and noticed the continuous sound of coughing," Hoffmeister said. "It's obvious there are a lot of upper respiratory issues going on."
Air quality isn't expected to improve much soon, because only light winds are expected over the Cascades this week, the state Department of Ecology said.
"It's not looking very good for a quick clear-out," Gilbert said.
The wildfires were started by lightning in early September.
Several other wildfires were also burning in the state. The biggest was a nearly 14,000-acre fire that was 40 percent contained along the west flank of Mount Adams.
The two biggest fires were reported as larger in size on Monday, but officials said that was due mostly to better mapping and the use of burn-outs to create fire lines. The Wenatchee complex of fires was reported Monday morning at 82 square miles, and 30 percent contained, while the Table Mountain fire was reported at nearly 57 square miles in size, and 10 percent contained.
"The big fires continue to creep on some uncontained edges," said Alan Hoffmeister, a spokesman on the Wenatchee complex.
Only a handful of structures have burned.
More than 2,500 firefighters battled those blazes on Monday, he said. They continued setting burn-outs on Monday to build lines around the fires, he said.
The huge fires are hurting air quality across Eastern Washington.
State officials said air quality in the Wenatchee and Cashmere areas remains in the "hazardous" category, while Pateros, Entiat and Ellensburg had air rated as "very unhealthy." Many other Eastern Washington communities have "unhealthy" air quality. Heavy smoke hung in the air of Spokane, 200 miles to the east of the blazes, turning the sun a bright red color at times.
The smoke is being held in place by inversions.
"We don't have a 'worse than hazardous' category," state Department of Ecology spokeswoman Jani Gilbert said. People who live in hazardous air areas should stay indoors and keep doors and windows closed, she said.
The heavy smoke was hampering aerial firefighters, Hoffmeister said.
"Half the time they can't fly because of the smoke," he said.
Fire crews also seem to be suffering.
"I was in the dining tent this morning and noticed the continuous sound of coughing," Hoffmeister said. "It's obvious there are a lot of upper respiratory issues going on."
Air quality isn't expected to improve much soon, because only light winds are expected over the Cascades this week, the state Department of Ecology said.
"It's not looking very good for a quick clear-out," Gilbert said.
The wildfires were started by lightning in early September.
Several other wildfires were also burning in the state. The biggest was a nearly 14,000-acre fire that was 40 percent contained along the west flank of Mount Adams.
We drove across the state this weekend. It was like nothing I'd ever seen in my many years of crossing the state. The haze/visibility in the Vantage area was terrible.  Visibility in the Ellensberg area was only slightly better. I feel for the residents of eastern Wa.
Something really fascinating about that cloud was that there was the occasional lightning bolt in it, some of them red through the smoke. It was quite awe-inspiring to stand under the cloud as it grew and spread out.
Spooky picture!
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I was in the Olympics over the weekend - very very dry there. Come on rain!
I had no idea what an 'inversion' was and had to look it up. Would have been nice to have some kind of explanation other than "The smoke is being held in place by inversions." I can't imagine everyone in the world knows what that is.
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 @Total Khaos I would normally give props to a smart-alec comment, but in this case you are missing the point. A good article writer would recognize that there is a word, subject or phrase written that is not commonly known and would at minimum try to explain it for the average reader. In this case, it was not done.
 @KOMODrone#07737 If you are not from the PNW we have inversions quite often in the Puget sound region. That's why they have burn bans in the winter months restricting wood stoves and outdoor fires because the air gets stagnant very quickly and air quality suffers. Keep an eye and ear on the weather this fall/winter for air quality alerts. Hope that helps.
 @Luciferian Thank you, Luciferian. I do live here and understand what the condition is, but had never really heard the term before. My only point is that most people probably aren't familiar with the term.
Looks worst than a Mt St Helens eruption.
@mstipton It is not worse. But it's pretty bad.