The Puget Sound Clean Air Agency and the public health agencies of King, Kitsap, Pierce and Snohomish counties issued a joint wildfire smoke alert on Monday, warning that air quality across the region could reach unhealthy levels and stay there through Thursday.
"We are experiencing significant smoke in Western Washington," the agencies said in the joint smoke alert. Air quality was forecast to reach moderate or unhealthy for sensitive groups across most of the Puget Sound area on Monday, with the Cascades already smoky and expected to reach unhealthy conditions in the afternoon. More smoke was forecast to move in Tuesday, with air quality throughout the region potentially reaching the unhealthy category and remaining there through Thursday, August 6.
The smoke is coming from numerous wildfires burning in Eastern Washington, including near Spokane. The alert was issued jointly by the clean air agency, Public Health Seattle and King County, Kitsap Public Health, the Snohomish County Health Department and the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department.
The Category Labels on Your Air Quality App Are Not Interchangeable
The forecast spans three Air Quality Index categories, and the difference between them determines who should change plans.
Moderate, the yellow band from 51 to 100, means air quality is acceptable for most people, though a small number unusually sensitive to particle pollution may notice symptoms.
Unhealthy for sensitive groups, the orange band from 101 to 150, is the label most people misread. It does not mean the air is fine for everyone else. It means people in defined risk categories are likely to experience effects while the general population probably will not. Someone with asthma can have a meaningful exacerbation at an AQI of 130 while a healthy neighbor notices only haze.
Unhealthy, the red band from 151 to 200, is the level the agencies forecast as possible for Tuesday through Thursday. At this point everyone may begin to experience health effects, and members of sensitive groups may experience more serious ones. That is the threshold at which outdoor exercise, youth sports practices, and outdoor work shifts become worth reconsidering for the general population, not just for people with existing conditions.
Who Counts as a Sensitive Group
Health agencies consistently identify the same categories as needing extra precautions during smoke events: infants and children, adults over 65, people who are pregnant, people with heart or lung disease including asthma and COPD, and people recovering from respiratory infections.
The reasons differ by group. Children breathe more air relative to body weight and have airways still developing. Adults over 65 more often have underlying cardiovascular or pulmonary disease that fine particles aggravate. In pregnancy, PM2.5 exposure has been associated with preterm birth and low birth weight. People with asthma and COPD have airways that respond to smoke with inflammation and bronchospasm, which is why smoke events produce spikes in rescue inhaler use and emergency visits.
Outdoor workers belong in this conversation as well. Construction crews, landscapers, delivery drivers, agricultural workers, and anyone doing sustained physical labor outside receive a substantially higher dose than someone indoors, because exertion increases the volume of air moved through the lungs.
Practical Steps That Actually Reduce Exposure
The single most effective action is reducing the amount of smoke that gets inside your home. Close windows and doors. Set central air conditioning to recirculate rather than drawing outside air, and check that the filter is clean. If your HVAC system accepts a MERV 13 filter, that grade captures a meaningful share of fine particles.
A portable HEPA air purifier sized for the room where you sleep is the next step. A do-it-yourself box fan filter, sometimes called a Corsi-Rosenthal box, costs considerably less than a commercial unit and has performed well in research testing. The EPA's wildfire smoke guidance covers how to set up a cleaner air room at home. It is also worth calling your county health department or local library, since some have offered loaner air cleaners during past smoke events.
If you must be outside for an extended period during unhealthy conditions, a properly fitted N95 or KN95 reduces particle inhalation. Cloth masks, surgical masks, and bandanas do not filter PM2.5 effectively.
Anyone with asthma or COPD should confirm they have an adequate supply of rescue and controller medications now rather than mid-week. Pharmacists can sometimes arrange an emergency supply for patients with an active prescription, so it is worth asking directly rather than waiting for a refill date.
Symptoms that warrant a call to a clinician include worsening cough, chest tightness, wheezing or shortness of breath that does not respond to usual medication. Chest pain, severe breathing difficulty, confusion, dizziness or heart palpitations require urgent evaluation and should not be waited on.
Checking Conditions Where You Actually Are
Smoke does not distribute evenly across a metropolitan area. Valley floors, low-lying neighborhoods and areas near the Cascade foothills can hold significantly more smoke than a hilltop a few miles away, and conditions can change within hours.
The Puget Sound Clean Air Agency maintains a regional air quality map that shows current readings at monitoring locations across the four counties, which is more useful than a single citywide number. The EPA and Forest Service Fire and Smoke Map provides comparable coverage nationally, including data from lower-cost sensors that fill gaps between regulatory monitors.
The agencies said air quality conditions may change quickly and advised residents to check the forecast regularly rather than relying on a morning reading.
The Season Is Just Beginning Here
This is the first significant smoke push of the 2026 season for the Seattle region, and Western Washington's smoke season typically runs from late summer into fall. Fire activity and wind direction will determine whether this event resolves later in the week or repeats.
The agencies said updates will be posted at pscleanair.gov as conditions develop. Households with a member in a sensitive group should treat this week as a reason to set up an indoor clean air space and confirm medication supplies, because the equipment and prescriptions that make the next event manageable are easier to arrange now than during it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which areas are covered by the alert? King, Kitsap, Pierce and Snohomish counties, covering Seattle, Tacoma, Everett and Bremerton, plus the Cascade areas where smoke arrived first.
How long is the smoke expected to last? Agencies forecast air quality potentially reaching unhealthy levels Tuesday and remaining there through Thursday, August 6, though conditions can change quickly.
Where is the smoke coming from? Numerous wildfires burning in Eastern Washington, including near Spokane.
What does unhealthy for sensitive groups actually mean? An AQI between 101 and 150, where people with asthma, heart or lung disease, children, older adults and pregnant people are likely to experience effects while the general population usually does not.
Who should take extra precautions? Infants and children, adults over 65, pregnant people, people with heart or lung disease including asthma and COPD, people with respiratory infections, and outdoor workers.
Does a cloth or surgical mask help? No. Only a properly fitted N95 or KN95 meaningfully filters the fine particles in wildfire smoke.
Where can I check air quality for my neighborhood? The Puget Sound Clean Air Agency map shows readings across the region, and the EPA and Forest Service Fire and Smoke Map offers national coverage.
