By Pepper Fisher
PORT ANGELES – A shift in the wind has again caused a heavy layer of smoke from the forest fires to blanket the community. We spoke with someone from the National Weather Service to get an idea of what we can expect in the coming days.
Meanwhile, the Port Angeles School District was keeping students indoors Friday, making masks available if they want to wear one, and excusing the absence of any students whose parents allow them to go home early.
Meteorologist Dev McMillian at the National Weather Service in Seattle says the smoke will likely stick around until a new weather front breezes into the area.
“It could stick around for a little bit while longer until we get a front that starts to push into the area tomorrow and bring us a nice push of onshore wind off the Pacific that can help push the smoke out of there and ultimately improve the air quality. But yeah, yeah, that’s exactly what you’re seeing today, is just the smoke associated with those wildfires seeping into your neck of the woods, but Improvement is on the way.”
Molly Healy from Olympic National Park says it’s likely the 3,800-acre Delabarre fire is funneling most of the smoke we saw Friday down the Elwha River drainage.
As for the coming rain, and how much it will affect the fires, McMillian says there’s reason to be cautiously optimistic.
“Yeah, were definitely about to transition sharply into fall, and right on time here. But, what we’re about to see going into early next week, this will be definitely the first, I would say, widespread moderate to heavy rainfall event that we’ve seen in quite some time. Starting tomorrow, as I mentioned, will have a weak front come through the area, and bring some light, rainfall, and possibly even some showers into Saturday evening before we get a brief reprieve early Sunday, and then by Sunday night we should see more widespread rain reach the coast. And we will continue to see rainfall through much of early next week and possibly into the latter half of the week as well. Throughout much of next week, it can definitely improve the fire situation going forward.”
(NPS photo of the Delabarre Fire)