4-24-2019
BELLINGHAM, Wash. — A national report shows wildfire smoke is significantly weakening Whatcom County’s normally good air quality, but Bellingham still managed to rank high in clean air.
The “State of the Air” report released by the American Lung Association does not include 2018’s more severe wildfire impact, but still shows wildfire effects on air quality between 2015 and 2017.
Though Bellingham was in the top ten cleanest cities in the nation in terms of ozone and year-round particle pollution, the AMA only gave Whatcom County a “C” grade because wildfire smoke caused spikes in fine particle data.
Meanwhile, Skagit County received an “A.”
Executive Director of the Northwest Clean Air Agency Mark Buford says they expect air quality to decline when 2018 smoke impacts are factored into next year’s report and all signs point to wildfire impacts continuing into the future.