Updated Sept. 18.
Smoke from the Bear Gulch Fire, northwest of Lake Cushman in Mason County, carried into Sequim skies on Tuesday evening leading to poor air quality on Sept. 17.
As of Thursday morning, air quality in the Sequim area had cleared.
State and fire officials estimate the fire has covered about 12,093 acres as of Wednesday morning, and it has grown an estimated 1,000 acres since Sunday.
The fire is an estimated 9% contained. It’s been reported that humans started the fire by unknown means on July 6, and its cause remains under investigation.
A second fire, Tunnel Creek Fire, west of Quilcene started by lightning on Sept. 6, has no containment and is at about 352 acres in size as of Sept. 17.
Battalion Chief Stef Anderson said local 911 calls for service started coming in on the evening of Sept. 16 with concerns about the smoke.
“The air quality outside is considered unhealthy and if you have respiratory issues, then you should consider staying inside,” she said.
She didn’t know of an estimated time/day for the air quality to improve, but said rain is forecast for the weekend.
From Agnew to Gardiner to inside the City of Sequim, air quality varies from “Moderate/yellow” to “Very Unhealthy/purple” depending on the amount of particulate matter in the air.
Sequim School District emailed families saying that they are “closely monitoring air quality conditions in our area today.”
“Student health and safety remain our top priority,” staff wrote. “Throughout the day, we will review air quality data using the Washington Children and Youth Activities Guide for Air Quality, along with data from the AirNow.gov forecast tool, we will adjust outdoor activities as needed based on current air quality levels.”
Due to air quality on Sept. 17, Sequim Middle School cancelled a cross country meet and football practice. Athletics resumed on Sept. 18.
Officials with the Olympic Region Clean Air Agency (ORCAA) could not be reached for comment.
According to a Sept. 15 Facebook post from the Olympic National Forest, the Bear Gulch Fire area received less than one-tenth of an inch of rain on Sept. 14, and weather conditions remain conducive for fire growth as dry easterly winds and lower relative humidity arrived on Monday night.
“Fire activity is expected to follow a pattern of increasing during warm, dry periods and decreasing during cooler, wetter conditions,” the post states. “This cycle is likely to continue until sustained fall rains fully extinguish the fire.”
Evacuation information for Lake Cushman can be found at facebook.com/masoncosheriff.
Olympic National Forest recreational site closures can be found at fs.usda.gov/r06/olympic.
Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash/ Due to wildfire smoke by Lake Cushman in Mason County, air quality in the Sequim area on Sept. 17 was considered moderate to very unhealthy, and Clallam County Fire District 3 officials encouraged those with respiratory issues to stay inside.
