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1. How can I sign up for wildfire smoke air quality alerts?

There are a couple ways to sign up for updates when wildfire smoke impacts our region's air quality. 

Email Alerts:

• Subscribe to our email list 

2. Where can I find additional resources?

• Prepare For Fire Season Fact Sheet – U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
• How Smoke From Fires Can Affect Your Health – AirNow
• Smoke Ready Toolbox – U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
• Air Pollution & School Activities – Washington State Department of Health
• Washington Smoke Blog – Washington State Department of Ecology Blog
• What Is Wildfire Smoke & Can It Make Me Sick? – Centers for Disease Control & Prevention
• Smoke From Fires – Washington State Department of Health
• Indoor Air Quality – Washington State Department of Health

3. How can smoke and ash affect my health?

The size of pollution particles, called particulate matter or PM, are directly linked to their potential for causing health problems. PM is measured in micrometers (µm)

When a wildfire smoke event is taking place, there could be many different particles in the air. Larger PM like ash (PM with a diameter greater than 10µm) can be seen with the naked eye and may be concerning, but our bodies have natural defenses to keep these larger particles from entering our lungs, though they can be an irritant to the eyes, nose, and throat.

Other particles from wood, or wildfire smoke, can be much smaller (PM with a diameter of 2.5µm or less, than 2.5µm, about 3% the diameter of a human hair) and are more dangerous to our health. These smaller particles cannot be seen with the naked eye and can be inhaled into the deepest part of the lungs. There these particles may cause greater health concerns, like breathing and heart problems.