Haze covers Snohomish County as wildfire smoke worsens air quality

Published 1:03 pm Wednesday, August 5, 2026

EVERETT — An orange haze lingered over Snohomish County on Wednesday as smoke from nearby wildfires blew into the Puget Sound area, degrading air quality in the region.

Smoke had appeared in the area earlier in the week as winds began to turn east, carrying smoke from wildfires in Spokane and British Columbia into the western Puget Sound region. That smoke was primarily higher in the air and didn’t significantly affect air quality, but on Tuesday and Wednesday, air quality worsened as more smoke closer to the surface began blowing in to the Snohomish County area.

On Wednesday morning, the air quality index in Everett was at a level unhealthy for sensitive groups. That includes people with heart or lung diseases, people who are pregnant, older adults, children and teenagers.

Those groups should find ways to reduce their exposure throughout the day, said Phil Swartzendruber, a forecaster with the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency.

For those who have to spend time outside, Swartzendruber recommended taking breaks in somewhere that has cleaner, filtered air. The Snohomish County Public Safety Hub maintains a list of cooling centers open throughout the county at tinyurl.com/3cyae6vd. Masks with an N95, KN95 or N100 label can also reduce exposure.

Some areas may briefly reach air quality index levels that are unhealthy for all groups, but the Clean Air Agency’s main concern is levels that are sustained for long periods of time, Swartzendruber said.

“What we think about is 24 hours worth of exposure,” he said. “If we think about that on a longer period, it’s probably not going to stay sustained at unhealthy or very unhealthy.”

For people without access to stable housing, the exposure to the smoke is nearly constant. At Hope N’ Wellness, a social service provider located just east of downtown Everett, people gathered for its typical weekly services, while also looking for a break from the smoky air.

Amber Sperberg, who said she has been homeless for three years, said she typically goes to places like Hope N’ Wellness or the Everett Public Library to get a reprieve from weather events like heat or wildfire smoke.

“Lot of ash, lot of smoke,” Sperberg said Wednesday. “Nothing you can do.”

For Katie Ragsdale, who has been homeless for nearly a year, the poor air quality from the smoke is “not her cup of tea, but I’ve been getting used to it,” she said Wednesday.

She added that struggling with weather events like the unhealthy smoke is compounded by poor treatment she said she receives from others in the city.

“I feel like the world, especially the city of Everett, should have a little bit more love,” Ragsdale said. “They should be in our shoes for a night, because they wouldn’t be able to handle a day and a half of what we go through out here.”

While smoke may remain in the air through Thursday, the air quality should begin to improve Wednesday evening and reach “good” to “moderate” levels, Swartzendruber said. The Puget Sound Clean Air Agency keeps an updated map of air quality levels throughout the region at map.pscleanair.gov.

Over the next few days, the county will see warm weather, with temperatures ranging from the mid-80s to mid-90s, said Matthew Cullen, a forecaster with the National Weather Service. Thursday will be the warmest day, with temperatures cooling slightly Friday.

“The good news is that the transition out of that will bring in stronger winds from the west, which tends to be more of that air from the ocean, which fortunately is less smokey than what we’ve seen in places across the region,” Cullen said.

Cullen said the haze may start clearing up in much of the county by late Thursday and into Friday. Eastern areas of the county, starting closer to the Cascades, may not see improvement until Friday or Saturday, he said.

The weather will also be dry over the next few days, Cullen said, raising fire risk.

“We really remind folks to be very careful of any sources of things that can spark or start fires,” he said.

Will Geschke: 425-339-3443; william.geschke@heraldnet.com; X: @willgeschke.

Jenna Peterson: 425-339-3486; jenna.peterson@heraldnet.com; X: @jennarpetersonn.