Darren Hull/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
Numerous wildfires in Canada, Washington and Oregon sparked air quality alerts and evacuations across the region. At least one person has died.
Thick smoke blanketed much of the Pacific Northwest on Monday as numerous wildfires in Canada, Washington and Oregon continued to burn, killing at least one person, destroying scores of buildings and threatening dozens more.
At least six large fires were burning in Washington State, including the Gray Fire, which was discovered around noon on Friday and was only 10 percent contained as of Monday morning, and the Oregon Road fire, which had burned more than 10,000 acres and was also only 10 percent contained, according to a state fire tracking agency. In Oregon, another four large fires were burning, three of which were just outside of Eugene.
The Washington State Department of Natural Resources said at least one person had died in the Gray fire and another death in connection with the Oregon Road fire was under investigation, but that the cause had not been determined. At least 265 structures were destroyed by the Gray and Oregon Road fires.
As the sun rose in Seattle, the Space Needle’s web camera captured a city under a gray, purplish haze. The Air Quality Index, which measures the density of major pollutants in the air, reached 178 as an air quality alert remained in place through Monday afternoon. The air in Issaquah, about 17 miles east of Seattle, registered 182. An index number above 200 is considered “very unhealthy.”
But by Monday afternoon, air quality was beginning to improve thanks to an onshore flow that was pushing smoke out of the area. The Air Quality Index measured 95, a moderate risk level, and the quality was expected to continue to improve through the evening and into tomorrow morning, Maddie Kristell, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Seattle, said.
But by Monday afternoon, air quality was beginning to improve thanks to an onshore flow that was pushing smoke out of the area. The Air Quality Index measured 95, a moderate risk level, and the quality was expected to continue to improve through the evening and into tomorrow morning, Maddie Kristell, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Seattle, said.
Local News from the Pacific Northwest. Get it in your inbox.
A powerful storm clobbered Washington state on Wednesday, knocking out power to hundreds of thousands of people while disrupting road travel and causing at least two deaths and two injuries.
Winds eased across the region by midday, but the first "atmospheric river" storm of the season has moved to California and is set to bring extreme rainfall by the end of the week, according to forecasters.
A woman was killed on Tuesday when a tree fell on a homeless encampment in Lynnwood, north of Seattle, local officials said. A second woman was killed near Seattle when a tree fell on her home, Bellevue city officials said. Two people were injured when a tree fell on their trailer in Maple Valley, southeast of Seattle.
The storm, with tropical-storm-force winds of 50 miles (80 km) per hour and gusts around 70 mph (110 kph), felled trees and power lines overnight. More than 300,000 homes and businesses in Washington, Oregon and Northern California were without power on Wednesday night, according to Poweroutage.us, down from some 600,000 earlier.
The windstorm and heavy rain also damaged the power system in Canada's Pacific coast province of British Columbia and cut power to some 225,000 customers Tuesday night, according to provincial electricity provider BC Hydro. By Wednesday evening, about 64,000 customers, mostly on Vancouver Island, remained without power.
In a stunning reversal, Seattle Public Schools Superintendent Brent Jones said Tuesday he may not recommend closing schools, after all.
The announcement comes after months of public outcry since Jones first unveiled a plan in September to close up to 21 elementary and K-8 schools – a list he later trimmed to four elementary schools: North Beach, Sacajawea, Sanislo, and Stevens.
“The school board gave me direction to develop a preliminary recommendation (to close schools),” Jones said at Tuesday’s board meeting, when he was expected to give an update on the consolidation plans.
“It is now clear that that direction is shifting, and I'm considering withdrawing my preliminary recommendation,” he said.
Jones added he needs time to consider whether he’ll bring this proposal back to the board or develop a new one — if he does.
It’s not yet clear whether the legally-required school closure hearings, slated to begin early next month, will go on as scheduled.
“The school board gave me direction to develop a preliminary recommendation (to close schools),” Jones said at Tuesday’s board meeting, when he was expected to give an update on the consolidation plans.
“It is now clear that that direction is shifting, and I'm considering withdrawing my preliminary recommendation,” he said.
Jones added he needs time to consider whether he’ll bring this proposal back to the board or develop a new one — if he does.
It’s not yet clear whether the legally-required school closure hearings, slated to begin early next month, will go on as scheduled.
October 2023 U.S. Unemployment Rate
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectetur. Enim pharetra nunc at egestas aliquam molestie neque et velit. Aliquam nibh lectus fames neque lectus curabitur curabitur sed.
Average cost of a gallon gasoline in the Seattle Metropolitan Area
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectetur. Enim pharetra nunc at egestas aliquam molestie neque et velit.
OL Reign attendance at Lumen Field on Thursday, October 29th
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectetur. Enim pharetra nunc at egestas aliquam molestie neque et velit. Aliquam nibh lectus fames neque lectus curabitur curabitur sed.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectetur. Enim pharetra nunc at egestas aliquam molestie neque et velit. Aliquam nibh lectus fames neque lectus curabitur curabitur sed. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectetur. Enim pharetra nunc at egestas aliquam molestie neque et velit. Aliquam nibh lectus fames neque lectus curabitur curabitur sed. Enim pharetra nunc at egestas aliquam molestie neque et velit. Aliquam nibh lectus fames neque lectus curabitur curabitur sed.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectetur. Enim pharetra nunc at egestas aliquam molestie neque et velit. Aliquam nibh lectus fames neque lectus curabitur curabitur sed. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectetur. Enim pharetra nunc at egestas aliquam molestie neque et velit. Aliquam nibh lectus fames neque lectus curabitur curabitur sed. Enim pharetra nunc at egestas aliquam molestie neque et velit. Aliquam nibh lectus fames neque lectus curabitur curabitur sed.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectetur. Enim pharetra nunc at egestas aliquam molestie neque et velit. Aliquam nibh lectus fames neque lectus curabitur curabitur sed. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectetur. Enim pharetra nunc at egestas aliquam molestie neque et velit. Aliquam nibh lectus fames neque lectus curabitur curabitur sed. Enim pharetra nunc at egestas aliquam molestie neque et velit. Aliquam nibh lectus fames neque lectus curabitur curabitur sed.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectetur. Enim pharetra nunc at egestas aliquam molestie neque et velit. Aliquam nibh lectus fames neque lectus curabitur curabitur sed. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectetur. Enim pharetra nunc at egestas aliquam molestie neque et velit. Aliquam nibh lectus fames neque lectus curabitur curabitur sed. Enim pharetra nunc at egestas aliquam molestie neque et velit. Aliquam nibh lectus fames neque lectus curabitur curabitur sed.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectetur. Tristique aenean tortor quam volutpat interdum scelerisque quis. Enim turpis sed nulla mollis ornare sodales. Varius at interdum laoreet. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectetur aenean tortor.