Spokane Clean Air Agency Reports Power Loss at Monitors During Wildfire Smoke

The Spokane Regional Clean Air Agency announced that its Airway Heights and Colbert air‑monitoring stations could lose power during Avista's Public Safety Power Shutoffs, which are triggered by extreme fire‑weather conditions. The agency highlighted the risk that essential air‑quality data may be unavailable precisely when wildfire smoke is expected to worsen, prompting questions about the resilience of monitoring infrastructure.

At the same time, the Northwest Clean Air Agency issued an air‑quality alert for Whatcom and Skagit counties, warning that particulate‑matter (PM2.5) levels could reach unhealthy concentrations as smoke from eastern Washington fires moves westward. The National Weather Service in Seattle forecast dry, warm conditions and offshore winds that will carry the smoke into western Washington through early August.