The Bear Gulch fire near Lake Cushman continues to grow with hazy skies clouding the Puget Sound area Tuesday morning.
The smoke and haze started to pick up Monday evening as the fire activity peaked during the afternoon and the weather got hotter and drier, said Jacob DeFlitch, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Seattle.
“It’s probably going to be another day or two before it starts clearing out even further, so the haze will likely be around for a few days here,” DeFlitch said.
The fire has burned more than 1,000 acres and was 10% contained as of Monday, as it inches toward the popular Staircase area of Olympic National Park. Firefighters have wrapped structures in the area to protect them.
Hazy skies from the fire will continue to be seen throughout Tuesday, peaking in the afternoon and evening hours. The smoke will continue across Western Washington, from the Oregon border up to British Columbia, DeFlitch said.
Those interested in keeping track of what the air quality forecast looks like can look through their local clean air agency. Air quality remains good throughout much of the Puget Sound area, although Kitsap County is seeing some impact from the smoke, according to the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency.
“We’ll be concerned if a new fire starts over the next day or two,” said DeFlitch. “Practicing good habits and so forth is going to be important, because we see this dry and warm pattern before we start to cool down next weekend.”
Much of Western Washington is under burn ban restrictions.
