Source: Airfire.org

Seattle appears set to get through with a relatively mild 2025 smoke season.

Smoke from large fires burning in the eastern Cascades that poured into the Puget Sound region over the weekend should let up, U.S. Interagency Wildland Fire Air Quality Response Program forecasters say, as an inversion layer fades and winds shift.

The city experienced some “moderate” smoke impacts in the meantime but mostly stayed below the officially “unhealthy” designation seen in the eastern part of King County.

Meanwhile across the sound, the Hood Canal area continues its run of wildfire smoke-choked air as the massive Bear Gulch Fire continues to burn its way through the southwest of the Olympic National Park.

You can view the latest federal air quality reports for Seattle here.

Seattle’s September 2024 and August 2023 summer smoke seasons were limited to a few stretches of haze and an “unhealthy” weekend or three.

 In 2022, the seriously unhealthy air arrived in September as the smoke seasons shift from year to year.

CHS looked here at the issues around fighting the fires in deep, hard to access wilderness areas, the benefits to letting nature take its course, and why we’ll likely see more large wildfires that impact air conditions around Seattle.

CHS also examined what Seattle leaders need to do to better prepare the city for the increasingly smoky summers ahead including clean air shelters and new rules to protect workers.

While it is too early to declare the 2025 season over, Pacific Northwest weather appears to be finally turning the corner more fully into fall with forecasts for a return of sprinkles as Seattle heads into October.

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