Unhealthy air quality to persist over the weekend with ongoing wildfires across the region

Wildfires and heat brought Spokane County a grungy haze this week and triggered an air quality alert.

The Spokane Regional Clean Air Agency’s air quality index will range from unhealthy for sensitive groups to unhealthy on Friday.

At 5 p.m., Spokane County’s air quality was considered moderate, while this morning, the agency's website reported the air quality was unhealthy for sensitive groups.

Air quality is expected to fluctuate during the next few days, said Jeremy Wolf, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service.

“We are going to get an increase in some northeast winds tomorrow that may result in some continued fluctuations in the smoke, but in general, we're looking for the smoke and haze to continue at least through the weekend,” Wolf said.

Most of the smoke settling in th