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Wildfires cause ‘hazardous’ air quality in Spokane, WA

By
FOX 13 Seattle
Spokane
Published July 17, 2026 2:53 PM PDT
Published July 17, 2026 2:53 PM PDT

The Brief

    • Wildfires burning across Eastern Washington, coupled with recent thunderstorm-sparked blazes, have trapped Spokane under dangerous smoke conditions, with local AQI levels spiking as high as 576.
    • Spokane’s regional air quality index fluctuated from a hazardous 315 down to a very unhealthy 288, prompting health alerts from local emergency management.
    • The severe air pollution is being fueled by tens of thousands of acres burning across multiple regional incidents, including the Lyons Ferry, Neff Jones, Chelan Hills, B and O, and Kaiser Canyon fires.

SPOKANE, Wash. - Wildfires burning in Eastern Washington and North Idaho have trapped Spokane under "hazardous" air quality, prompting alerts from local emergency management.

According to AirNow data, Spokane's air quality index (AQI) spiked at 315 regionally — denoting hazardous air quality, which can cause health problems for everyone, regardless of age or fitness.

Since Friday morning, Spokane's air quality has improved somewhat to 288, which is in the "very unhealthy" range, which can still cause adverse health effects.

Despite the improvement, certain neighborhoods on AirNow's air quality map flagged with even more dangerous smoke. Parts of south Spokane and into Spokane County saw air quality as poor as 576, indexing out of the AQI chart.

Wildfires behind hazardous air quality

Air quality has been choked by smoke from several wildfires burning in Eastern Washington, including the Lyons Ferry Fire, Neff Jones Fire, Chelan Hills Fire, B and O Fire and Kaiser Canyon Fire.

Tens of thousands of acres have burned, and more wildfires have been sparked by thunderstorms in the past 24 hours.

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The Source: Information in this story comes from AirNow and previous coverage from FOX 13 Seattle.

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