Warm settling above cold is why air quality in North Idaho fluctuates from not so great in the morning to slightly better throughout the daytime, according to the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality.

This trend is expected to continue until Friday, State DEQ Airshed Coordinator Emily Flores said.

“I think it would be fair to say we’ll have poor air quality in the mornings and evenings,” she said. “It’ll be slightly better during the day.”

With major wildfires raging in both Spokane and the Cascade Mountains, North Idaho has recently been covered by sheaths of smoke. Residents woke up Tuesday morning to an air quality index of 166. Based on a scale of 1-500, this means air quality in Coeur d’Alene is deemed in the red, or “unhealthy.”

Shortly after 1 p.m. Tuesday, however, air quality improved to 90 AQI. This means Tuesday's daytime air quality was in the yellow, or “moderate.” 

This trend of warm air parcels covering cold air parcels, otherwise known as an inversion, will likely see its peak Thursday in the Coeur d’Alene area. In Boundary County, air quality was at its worst on Sunday, Aug. 2, with a AQI of 151 before dropping to 125 Monday and to 76 AQI on Wednesday.

According to the North Idaho Air Quality and Burn Forecast, Thursday is expected to be hit by a 155 AQI. Meanwhile, the forecast anticipates a 145 AQI for Wednesday and a 140 AQI on Friday.

As of Tuesday, wildfires in the Spokane area burned over 10,000 acres and destroyed over 700 buildings. National forecasting organization AccuWeather has estimated $4 billion to $6 billion in total damage so far.

According to the National Weather Service in Spokane, weather conditions are not expected to get better any time soon.

“Unfortunately, there’s not going to be any amount of relief that’s going to come through,” National Weather Service Meteorologist Antoinette Serrato said. 

Coeur d’Alene will have relatively low wind speeds through Wednesday and Thursday. Humidity is also expected to be low, between 8% and 10%. Serrato added that there is a near 0% chance of precipitation in the local area through the weekend.

“It’s just going to continue to be dry,” she said.

Wind gusts, however, are expected to flare up this weekend. Friday is expected to reach between 10 mph and 15 mph, while Saturday could reach between 15 mph and 20 mph. Increasing wind speeds, which do worsen wildfire conditions, are then expected to blow the inversion out of the Coeur d’Alene area by Monday.

“I am really, really hopeful that will move those parcels of air down,” Flores said of the weekend wind forecast.

There are currently about 900 firefighting personnel battling blazes in Spokane. Coeur d’Alene’s air quality also relies on their efforts to quell the wildfires, according to Flores.

“Our firefighters are doing such an incredible job,” she said. 

Flores recommends that anyone sensitive to unfavorable air quality conditions, including children, older adults and those with pre-existing conditions, remain indoors or keep outside activities brief throughout the week.

For regular air quality forecasts and updates on local air quality, visit https://www2.deq.idaho.gov/air/AQIPublic/Forecast?siteId=2.