Smokey skies in the Inland Northwest

Thick smoke will cover much of Eastern Washington and the Idaho Panhandle on Saturday and Sunday, bringing with it air-quality alerts from the National Weather Service.

Section:Gallery

Sat., Sept. 12, 2020

The Pavilion and Clocktower are seen shrouded in smoke on Saturday, Sept. 12, 2020, in downtown Spokane, Wash.

Tyler Tjomsland The Spokesman-Review Buy this photo
Smoke chokes downtown Spokane on Saturday, Sept. 12, 2020, in Spokane, Wash.

Tyler Tjomsland The Spokesman-Review
Smoke chokes downtown Spokane on Saturday, Sept. 12, 2020, in Spokane, Wash.

Tyler Tjomsland The Spokesman-Review
Smoke chokes downtown Spokane on Saturday, Sept. 12, 2020, in Spokane, Wash.

Tyler Tjomsland The Spokesman-Review Buy this photo
Smoke chokes downtown Spokane on Saturday, Sept. 12, 2020, in Spokane, Wash. Air quality was so poor Saturday it smashed a record set in August 2018, the Spokane Clean Air Agency reported.

Tyler Tjomsland The Spokesman-Review
Smoke chokes downtown Spokane on Saturday, Sept. 12, 2020, in Spokane, Wash.

Tyler Tjomsland The Spokesman-Review Buy this photo
Smoke chokes downtown Spokane on Saturday, Sept. 12, 2020, in Spokane, Wash.

Tyler Tjomsland The Spokesman-Review Buy this photo
Downtown Spokane is barely visible from Sunset Hill on Saturday, Sept. 12, 2020, in Spokane, Wash.

Tyler Tjomsland The Spokesman-Review Buy this photo
The sun sets as smoke haze begins to arrive in Spokane from the many wildfires in California, Oregon and Washington state, Friday, Sept. 11, 2020. A study from researchers at Washington State University has found that heat, coupled with wildfire smoke, is a dangerous combination for health.

Colin Mulvany The Spokesman-Review Buy this photo
An American flag on top the Space Needle was lowered to half-staff today by the Seattle Fire Department to remember those who lost their lives on 9/11, Friday, Sept. 11, 2020. Thick smoke from wildfires burning across Washington, Oregon and California makes seeing the Space Needle and downtown Seattle nearly impossible in this view from Queen Anne Hill.

Mike Siegel The Seattle Times Via The Associated Press
Smoke from widlfires shrouds the town of West Linn, Ore., in this Christian Gallagher drone photo taken around 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 10, 2020.

Christian Gallagher The Associated Press
Boaters pass by the Seattle skyline during hazy air conditions Friday morning, Sept. 11, 2020. Smoke pollution from wildfires raging in California and across the Pacific Northwest worsened in San Francisco, Seattle and Portland, Oregon, on Friday, giving those cities and others in the the region some of the world’s worst air quality.

Erika Schultz The Seattle Times Via The Associated Press
Volunteer Elizabeth Stoltz of Heisson waters the Fort Vancouver Garden in Vancouver, Wash., Friday, Sept. 11, 2020. Stolz said things were extra dried out because of the wind and smoke. "The wind sucks the life out of everything," she said. Stoltz said she is still not under evacuation from the Big Hollow Fire but her family made a plan in case it gets to that point. Clark County entered hazardous air-quality territory late Thursday as wildfire smoke traveling from other areas enveloped Southwest Washington.

Alisha Jucevic The Columbian Via The Associated Press