Smoke in Tri-Cities this weekend blown in from I-84 Fire in OR

Update: The smoke cleared out through Sunday and we're in clear air again here in the Tri-Cities.

The fire along the I-84 has been very intense, as one Redditor showed in a video from their perspective on the road:

Wildfire Along I-84 Last Night
byu/alxhrs inoregon

Gilliam County Sheriff's Office posted this update Sunday, which as of Monday morning, is the latest update we have. I-84 is open again to traffic.

Original Story

Today (Saturday, August 17) was a pretty clear air day for us here in the Tri-Cities. In fact we've been spared wildfire smoke for a number of days now, despite the numerous fires burning in the PNW. It's been a relief.

Which meant that when Tri-Cities residents started smelling smoke and seeing ash around 8 pm, they started calling fire departments in concern. Sure enough, our air quality was shooting up into the yellow and has been for a bit.

A quick check-in with the Benton County Fire District shows that they've looked for possible fires in the area, but haven't found any. Instead, they believe our current smoke may be coming from an ongoing fire situation in the Condon/Arlington area of Oregon (about two hours SSW).

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Gilliam County Sheriff's Office shared photos yesterday of the brush fire, which has made travel along the I-84 nearly impossible, with crews still actively working to clear vehicles stuck on the road.

We'll see what the morning brings and update with any important information as the situation develops. Stay tuned to 610 KONA for the latest breaking news.