Washington fires dirty local skies

While Kootenai County has escaped wildfire season so far, it’s already feeling the effects of major fires to the west.

A look outside on Wednesday told you so.

Smoke from the 23,500-acre Spartan wildfire between Wenatchee and Quincy, Wash., blanketed Kootenai County and surrounding areas before Wednesday night’s thunderstorm rolled in and cleared the air.

“Most of the smoke came from that area,” said Shane O’Shea of the Idaho Department of Lands. “Local residents should not be concerned about any major fire in the immediate area”/ Brian Walker , Coeur d’Alene Press. More here.