Record-breaking poor air quality continues to affect Spokane on Sunday

After record breaking-smoke conditions Saturday, experts say hazardous smoke conditions will continue through mid-week, with a bit of relief Monday. kh

Section:Gallery

Sun., Sept. 13, 2020

Smoked turkey: A rafter of a half dozen turkeys are spotted during their breakfast feed on Sunday, Sept. 13 amongst the smokey haze in Spokane, Wash. The air quality remained well into the hazardous category and was 495 at the time of this photo.

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Smoked turkey: A rafter of a half dozen turkeys are spotted during their breakfast feed on Sunday, Sept. 13 amongst the smokey haze in Spokane, Wash. The air quality remained well into the hazardous category and was 495 at the time of this photo.

Libby Kamrowski The Spokesman-Review Buy this photo
Cameron Bower, age 3, holds his dad Patrick Bower's hand as the masked pair waits for a bus near Bridgeport and Division on Sunday, Sept. 13, 2020 in downtown Spokane, Wash. The air quality was hazardous and hovered just below 500 at the time of this photo.

Libby Kamrowski The Spokesman-Review
is seen on Sunday, Sept. 13, 2020 in downtown Spokane, Wash. The air quality was hazardous and hovered just below 500 at the time of this photo.

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The Parkade is seen through the haze on Sunday, Sept. 13, 2020 in downtown Spokane, Wash. The air quality was hazardous and hovered just below 500 at the time of this photo.

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Libby Kamrowski/The Spokesman-Review

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Bradley and Karlee Humphrey exit the Davenport Grand Hotel to begin a Sunday run on Sunday, Sept. 13, 2020 in downtown Spokane, Wash. The couple is local but decided to have a staycation at the Davenport as a date due to "feeling cooped up because of COVID-19," but said the indoor gym was closed which meant outdoor exercise was the only option left, even in hazardous air.

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The southbound lanes of Division street are seen from Division and Gray Court, with visibility not even extending as far as Buckeye Ave. on Sunday, Sept. 13, 2020 in downtown Spokane, Wash. The air quality was hazardous and hovered just below 500 at the time of this photo.

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The Spokane County Superior Courthouse is seen through the haze on Sunday, Sept. 13, 2020 in downtown Spokane, Wash. The air quality was hazardous and hovered just below 500 at the time of this photo.

Libby Kamrowski The Spokesman-Review
The Spokane River can barely be seen from Summit Boulevard and College on Sunday, Sept. 13, 2020 in downtown Spokane, Wash. The air quality was hazardous and hovered just below 500 at the time of this photo.

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Mayor Nadine Woodward speaks to members of the media on the fringe of the temporary, 24-hour safer air center that the City of Spokane set up in the Spokane Convention Center, as seen on Sunday, Sept. 13, 2020 in downtown Spokane, Wash. The regional shelter is open to anyone who needs respite from the hazardous air quality caused by wildfire smoke; before citizens enter the facility, which is monitored by security and sanitized regularly as a COVID-19 precaution, guests will have their basic identification details taken down and can then access the socially distanced sleeping mats and meals.

Libby Kamrowski The Spokesman-Review
A Spokane Fire Department engine rolls down Spokane Falls Boulevard amongst the haze, as seen from a window in the Spokane Convention Center on Sunday, Sept. 13, 2020 in downtown Spokane, Wash. The Convention Center opened at 8 a.m. this morning as an emergency drop-in clean air shelter.

Libby Kamrowski The Spokesman-Review
A sign on the entrance to the temporary, 24-hour safer air center asks citizens to wear masks while in the shelter, which is in the Spokane Convention Center, on Sunday, Sept. 13, 2020 in downtown Spokane, Wash. The regional shelter is open to anyone who needs respite from the hazardous air quality caused by wildfire smoke; before citizens enter the facility, which is monitored by security and sanitized regularly as a COVID-19 precaution, guests will have their basic identification details taken down and can then access the socially distanced sleeping mats and meals.

Libby Kamrowski The Spokesman-Review
A temporary, 24-hour safer air center opened in the Spokane Convention Center under the direction of the City of Spokane on Sunday, Sept. 13, 2020 in downtown Spokane, Wash. The regional shelter is open to anyone who needs respite from the hazardous air quality caused by wildfire smoke; before citizens enter the facility, which is monitored by security and sanitized regularly as a COVID-19 precaution, guests will have their basic identification details taken down and can then access the socially distanced sleeping mats and meals. The far wall can be retracted if many citizens seek shelter there, allowing social distancing to still occur.

Libby Kamrowski The Spokesman-Review
Mayor Nadine Woodward speaks to members of the media on the fringe of the temporary, 24-hour safer air center that the City of Spokane set up in the Spokane Convention Center, as seen on Sunday, Sept. 13, 2020 in downtown Spokane, Wash. The regional shelter is open to anyone who needs respite from the hazardous air quality caused by wildfire smoke; before citizens enter the facility, which is monitored by security and sanitized regularly as a COVID-19 precaution, guests will have their basic identification details taken down and can then access the socially distanced sleeping mats and meals.

Libby Kamrowski The Spokesman-Review Buy this photo
A man talks on his cellphone while walking through the hallway of the Spokane Convention Center while the US Pavilion's vague form is seen through the haze on Sunday, Sept. 13, 2020 in downtown Spokane, Wash. The air quality was hazardous and hovered just below 500 at the time of this photo.

Libby Kamrowski The Spokesman-Review
A temporary, 24-hour safer air center opened in the Spokane Convention Center under the direction of the City of Spokane on Sunday, Sept. 13, 2020 in downtown Spokane, Wash. The regional shelter is open to anyone who needs respite from the hazardous air quality caused by wildfire smoke; before citizens enter the facility, which is monitored by security and sanitized regularly as a COVID-19 precaution, guests will have their basic identification details taken down and can then access the socially distanced sleeping mats and meals.

Libby Kamrowski The Spokesman-Review Buy this photo