Smoke was pouring into the Tri-Cities area on Friday as a “super-massive” body of smoke moved into Washington state from the southwest, according to the Washington state Department of Ecology.
The Tri-Cities also was still getting smoke from the Cold Springs fire to the north near Omak, which had burned 87,689 acres and was only 25% contained Friday morning. The air quality in the Tri-Cities by Friday afternoon was rated as “hazardous” on the Department of Ecology’s scale. It’s expected to stay bad into the weekend as an inversion may trap the smoke over the Tri-Cities. The “hazardous” rating is the second in a few days, according to information from the Benton Clean Air Agency. Air quality was rated as hazardous on Labor Day in the Tri-Cities.