Smoke arrives Sunday and could worsen in coming days

Temperatures cooled Sunday and the winds were lighter, but a thick layer of smoke from fires in the Cascades moved in to make air unhealthy.

Smoke levels worsened for much of Sunday. By 9 p.m. the air quality index for the city reached 200.

The Spokane Regional Clean Air Agency reported Sunday that air quality will worsen this week as smoke from distant fires pours into the Inland Northwest.

Smoke from Canadian fires is expected to add to the poor air quality, potentially turning it to hazardous by Tuesday.

While 10 degrees cooler than Saturday, strong winds Sunday drove the Autumn Lane fire that jumped the Spokane River and burned into the Suncrest area.

Wind gusts reached between 20 and 25 mph Sunday.

“While these ones are not as strong as yesterday, they will still impact any new and ongoing fires, and we’re still expected to see pretty rapid fire spread when these winds start to increase, and they’ll start to increase around noon for Spokane,” National Weather Service meteorologist Antoinette Serrato said earlier Sunday.

Wind levels will remain high into the evening – eventually calming around midnight.

Humidity is similarly low Sunday as it was Saturday, ranging anywhere from 15% to 25%. Temperatures were in the high 80s Saturday but fell to the 70s Sunday.

The area’s “particularly dangerous situation” red flag warning expired Saturday evening. Risk remains high for spread of current fires, but the risk of new fires breaking out is lower, according to Serrato.

“But if any new fires do break out, they will also rapidly spread,” she noted.

The forecast does not predict much relief throughout the week. There is no precipitation anticipated for the next few days, and temperatures are set to increase Monday and remain high. Winds will calm somewhat before picking up again on Thursday, Serrato said.