Washington Air Quality Alert Covers Seven Counties as a Heat Advisory Compounds the Risk

Washington's wildfire smoke alert has widened again, and it now overlaps with a heat advisory covering much of western Washington. The air quality alert covers seven counties: Grays Harbor, King, Kitsap, Mason, Pierce, Snohomish and Thurston. The Puget Sound Clean Air Agency and the Olympic Region Clean Air Agency initially covered King, Kitsap, Pierce, Snohomish and Thurston counties through Wednesday afternoon. For smoke, state rules require employers to monitor air quality and maintain a written response plan covering training and protective equipment such as N95 respirators once air quality crosses defined thresholds. A separate alert covers counties east of the Cascades, where the Spokane Regional Clean Air Agency says its alert continues.