Smoke visible in Olympia, but forecasters still expect it to stay aloft
Wildfire smoke from California cast an eerie, familiar red hue over the rising sun in the Olympia area Wednesday, but forecasters say the smoke is still expected to stay high enough that it shouldn’t drastically impact air quality on the ground.
As the day heats up, the air will mix and could bring some smoke to the surface, Mary Butwin, a meteorologist with National Weather Service in Seattle, said in a phone call with The Olympian. But it shouldn’t be very much.
Most of the smoke is at 5,000 feet and above and is expected to stay aloft, Butwin said, with air quality in most locations expected to stay in the “good” or “moderate” range.
South Thurston County residents might have seen smoke coming from a different source: Center for Natural Lands Management planned to conduct prescribed ecological burns in two areas to control invasive shrubs and restore prairie habitat, according to a press release.
The first burn was planned for 11 a.m. at a 5-acre area at Tenalquot Prairie Preserve two miles northwest of Rainier, and was scheduled to last one hour. The second was planned at 2 p.m. for a 6-acre area at Wolf Haven International two miles north of Tenino, and also was scheduled to last one hour.
Forecasters have received varying reports from clean air agencies about when the smoke from California wildfires is likely to move out of the region, Butwin said. But, as of Wednesday, forecasters were leaning toward the haze clearing Thursday, based on what the situation looks like off the coast.
Dense fog in the Olympia area Wednesday morning was caused by a marine push during the nighttime hours and early morning, Butwin said. High temperatures are expected to be in the mid and high 70s through the end of the week.
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