2018 is set to break the record in number of smoky days in Spokane.
This year has been one of the smokiest years in Spokane, according to a record chart from the Spokane Regional Clean Air Agency.
The chart dates back to 1999 and lists each year since then and how many days were at or above the “unhealthy” range because of wildfire smoke.
In 2014, there was only one day in the unhealthy range. In 2015, there were 13 unhealthy days. Five of those days were in the very unhealthy range. 2016 had no unhealthy days.
However, smoky days spiked in 2017 with a count of 16. Four of those days were very unhealthy, and three were hazardous.
So far in 2018 there have been 11 days of unhealthy air. Four of them have been very unhealthy, and Sunday marked the first hazardous day.
So far, Spokane is on track to catching up with last year’s record. It has been five days since the air quality has dipped into moderate.
If there are five more days of unhealthy air, Spokane will break 2017’s record and be the unhealthiest year on the charts.