SEATTLE — Most of the Puget Sound region in Washington state was experiencing degraded air quality Saturday because of smoke from wildfires amid windy, dry, unseasonably warm weather.
The Puget Sound Clean Air Agency said the region had air quality ratings ranging from unhealthy to unhealthy for sensitive groups. Air quality was worse in the Cascades and along Highway 2, State Route 530 and in the Darrington area.
The conditions, which also prompted red flag warnings for increased fire danger, were expected to continue through Sunday. The Compass Housing Alliance was offering a shelter in Seattle for people wanting to escape the smoky air.
In Oregon, an air quality advisory was in effect for much of the western part of the state. Most locations including Portland were seeing moderate air, with worse conditions near Eugene.
A new fire ignited Saturday northwest of Portland near Fishhawk Lake, according to state Forestry officials. It wasn’t threatening any structures. Nine other fires were burning throughout the Northwest in one of the driest periods on record.
Smoke can irritate the eyes and lungs and worsen some medical conditions. Infants and young children, people with heart or lung disease, older adults and pregnant people are most at risk from its effects.
Officials encourage people to stay out of the polluted air when possible, closing windows and doors.
Temperatures were expected to be in the 70s in Seattle on Saturday and Sunday. Seattle also reached 70 degrees Fahrenheit (21 Celsius) on Friday, marking nine days in October when temperatures have reached or exceeded that mark, according to the National Weather Service. That tops the previous record of eight days in 1987 and 1991.
Temperatures above 80 F around Portland on Saturday could also break records, the weather agency said.
Rain could come next weekend.
Climate change has made the West warmer and drier over the last several decades and will continue to make weather more extreme and wildfires more frequent and destructive, according to scientists.
