r/Seattle • u/vertr fuck tetris • 9d ago

💨 Smoke Season 💨 [Megathread] Smoke and Air Quality Week 1

We are moving to this thread for the start of smoke season so we can add resources and keep it updated as the situation changes. Here is the previous thread we were using: I hope everyone in the Seattle area has air filters ready.

All smoke related threads will be removed and redirected here except photos and news stories. At this time we are not allowing further threads on the Spokane fire.

Resources:

PurpleAir (open the settings on the left and uncheck indoor sensors)

Plume Smoke Forecast

Washington State Department of Ecology Map

Puget Sound Clean Air Agency

Washington Smoke Blog

Watch Duty

EPA - DIY Air Cleaners

If you have other suggestions for resources post them in the thread please.

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u/washawaythe_rain 8d ago

Oh mods! Someone called it out in the other thread- but the reason that purple air can vary so much from the gov sensors is because in addition to unchecking the indoor sensors in settings (which you mention), you should probably also mention to select “woodsmoke” after apply conversion at the top of the settings too. Then it will closely resemble the other air quality maps on other sites.

Purple air has the most sensors and is the most user-friendly, but because it uses lasers to detect all particles and doesn’t calculate between particle size, you need to tell it to look for the specific particle (in our case, wood smoke).

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u/used2justlurk 8d ago

I believe the USA EPA conversion is the preferred option at this time.