MOSES LAKE — It’s smokey out there, the result of winds blowing smoke into the Columbia Basin from a wildfire north in Okanogan County, making its presence felt throughout Central Washington. 

“In general, (the smoke) is coming from the Kaiser Canyon Fire to the north,” said Dan Van Butler, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Spokane.  

The fire, about 63,000 acres as of Monday afternoon, was burning around the Nespelem area north of Elmer City in Okanogan County. It was zero percent contained on Monday afternoon. 

Southerly winds were pumping smoke into the region Monday – and while the wind should, and does, blow the smoke through the region, there’s a lot of smoke from a big fire. 

“You’re continually getting more and more smoke,” Van Butler said.  

As long as the prevailing wind is from the north and the fire is burning, the smoke will continue to blanket Central Washington, including the Columbia Basin, he said. Winds are forecast to shift to the west later in the week, but there are also fires burning in the Cascades. 

“Multiple fires, multiple different angles from the wind,” he said.  

Temperatures are forecast to be at or near 100 degrees from Tuesday through Thursday, and there are times when a layer of smoke can keep it cooler at the surface. Van Butler said there probably won’t be enough smoke for that.  

“Fairly minimal impact (on temperatures),” Van Butler said. 

Later in the week temperatures are expected to be in the high 80s to low 90s by Saturday. However, that causes another problem, he said. As the temperatures drop, the potential for wind and thunderstorms increases across a region that’s very dry. 

“We’re keeping a close eye on potential critical fire weather,” Van Butler said. 

Lexi Smith, public information officer for the Grant County Health District, said people should monitor air quality when making plans on smoky days. In most cases, that’s measured by the Air Quality Index, developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 

It measures the number of particulates in the air and uses a color-coded scale, with green being satisfactory and maroon being hazardous. There are various online tools that monitor and provide information about air quality, and Smith recommended that people take advantage of those. 

“We recommend WA Smoke Blog," she said. "It breaks it down by different towns within the county, and then it provides a forecast for potential smoke in the area as well."  

While it’s best to keep windows closed when it’s smoky, people can still use air conditioners on days that are both smoky and hot. 

“If you're dealing with heat and smoke at the same time, you have to kind of balance it out. If you don't have AC in the house (and) it's going to get super-hot, an air purifier would be a good choice,” Smith said. “Even creating a DIY air purifier, which is just one of those box fans, and then you put an AC filter on top of that.”  

If the house does have air conditioning, Smith recommended an air conditioner filter.  

“You can get a MERV 13 rating or higher filter for your AC unit, or there are some other options like using recirculate rather than the auto settings,” she said.  

The risk of being affected by smoke may be higher for people with respiratory illnesses or chronic conditions. Smith said people should take that into account also. 

“If the air quality is bad, just make sure you're checking in on your loved ones because while wildfire smoke is dangerous for everyone, it can be even more so for higher risk groups,” she said. “Your neighbors, your loved ones, your community members. Keep an eye on each other.” 

    Smoke from the Kaiser Canyon Fire hangs over Moses Lake Monday afternoon.