Tasha Smith looked across Lake Coeur d'Alene late Wednesday morning at the haze caused by the region's wildfires and pondered her next move.

"I'm headed out to beat the afternoon heat because I know it's coming," the Post Falls woman said while reading in the shade at Coeur d'Alene City Park.

And hot, dry temperatures are predicted to keep on coming through most of August.

"It may be around the 21st of August before we see any significant moisture," said Press Meteorologist Randy Mann.

Mann said just three-hundredths of an inch of precipitation fell in Coeur d’Alene in July, the eighth-driest July since 1895.

“The Sahara Desert had more moisture than we did in July,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality on Wednesday warned residents the air quality in Kootenai County has been degraded to moderate for the first time this year due to smoke from wildfires in British Columbia and Montana.

The air quality is acceptable under such conditions, but there may be a moderate health concern for a limited number of people who are unusually sensitive to air pollution, according to IDEQ.

The punch of heat, extreme fire danger and smoke comes on the brink of one of Coeur d'Alene's largest outdoor events of the year. Art on the Green, Taste of Coeur d'Alene and the Downtown Street Fair open Friday.

Mann said the weather could top 100 Friday and this weekend.

"It's going to be brutally hot," he said.

Mike Seidel, Weather Channel Television Network meteorologist, added: "For many in the Pacific Northwest this could be the worst heat wave in over 25 years."

Animal clinic staff cautioned residents about exposing their dogs to too much walking on the pavement and sidewalks as it can cause burns to their feet.

Ralph Paul, IDEQ's airshed coordinator, said people may consider tweaking their time outdoors as smoky conditions may persist into next week, depending on fire activity and winds.

"If you're a jogger, you may want to wait until mid-day," he said. "When it's cool, the smoke shrinks down to the ground. The warmer it gets it expands and lifts up."

Paul said wildfire smoke entered the health concern radar Kootenai County in June, but it only lasted a few hours.

"This is the first time this season it's gotten socked in," he said.

The heat wave has caused Avista Utilities to take temporary precautions as re-energizing power lines could start a fire.

"In most cases, lines located in rural and/or forested areas are normally re-energized automatically," a press release states. "However, during the current dry weather conditions Avista's line personnel will physically patrol an outage area before a line is placed back into service. This temporary change in operations could lead to longer outage times."

Smith said she'll grasp other aspects of the weather to help her endure the heat wave.

"At least the nights cool down and I keep reminding myself that it wasn't too long ago that we were complaining about the wet spring," she said.