Air quality still in unsafe categories around region

MOSCOW - Heavy smoke settling Wednesday on the Palouse from a number of wildfires burning in the region prompted warnings of "hazardous" and "very unhealthy" air quality.

In a news release, Washington State University meteorologist Nic Loyd attributed the source of the smoke to "a cluster of wildfires burning in the Clearwater region of Idaho." Loyd said it appears much of the smoke was carried by winds from fires located to the east of the Palouse. He analyzed weather and air quality data collected from the university's Laboratory for Atmospheric Research.

The hazy, smoke-filled sky caused the Washington State Department of Ecology to issue a "very unhealthy" air quality warning for Pullman, with similarly "hazardous" air quality levels determined in Moscow and Lewiston Wednesday morning. Moscow's air quality level improved to "unhealthy" and Lewiston's to "very unhealthy" by the evening, according to the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality.

"The Palouse area is directly in the smoke's path," Loyd said. "While air quality has been bad in general for many communities east of the Cascades, at present your area is among the worst."

The excessive smoke caused Moscow officials to close the Hamilton Lowe Aquatic Center Wednesday. Staff members will monitor air quality today to determine if it has improved enough to reopen the pool. The city is also limiting outdoor operations until the air clears, according to a city news release.

The University of Idaho has opted to move any outdoor events inside or cancel them completely if the air quality index is 150 or more. UI recommends students, faculty and staff members use discretion on whether to continue or relocate events, according to a UI news release.

The university's athletic programs will also monitor air quality prior to the start of any sporting event to determine how to proceed, according to UI. The university plans to provide notice of event changes on the university's website, social media and on its email system.

Loyd said a shift in wind direction late Wednesday night could break up the smoke's concentration on the Palouse for today. Air quality throughout the region varied from unhealthy in Potlatch to very unhealthy in Lapwai and hazardous in Grangeville, Kamiah and Juliaetta as of Wednesday evening.

Idaho's air quality status can be monitored on the department of environmental quality website at http://airquality.deq.idaho.gov.

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Rudd may be contacted at erudd@lmtribune.com or (208) 791-8465. Follow her on Twitter @elizabeth_rudd.