Clark County gets breath of fresh air as AQI improves for regionFree

Air quality improved overnight, with almost all of Clark County and the Portland-metro area back in the healthy range.

Most of the area falls between 0 to 50 on the Air Quality Index scale, solidly in the healthy range. A few areas are outliers, falling into the unhealthy for sensitive individuals range, according to purpleair.com.

Air quality in Clark County and much of Southwest Washington had been in the unhealthy range for days due to smoke from the Nakia Creek Fire settling over the area. Wildfires in the Cascades had the same effect on much of the Interstate 5 corridor from the Willamette Valley north to the Canadian border.

“Air quality in Clark County is currently good! That means it’s a great day to open your windows and go outside for physical activity. Stay up-to-date on the latest air quality conditions,” Clark County Public Health said in a tweet.

Rain is forecast throughout the weekend and into next week, though an air quality advisory is currently still in effect until 6 p.m. Monday, according to the National Weather Service.

The Stage II burn ban remains in effect for Clark, Cowlitz and Lewis counties, according to the Southwest Clean Air Agency. All outdoor burning and the use of fireplaces, wood stoves and inserts is prohibited unless wood burning is the only source of heat for a residence, in which case the agency urges residents to burn as clean as possible.

More information about air quality can be found at swcleanair.gov, airnow.gov or wasmoke.blogspot.com.