Smoky haze from Yakima fire
A paddleboarder and a boy glide on the waters of Lake Coeur d'Alene as a smoky haze from Yakima-area wildfires fills the sky on Tuesday afternoon.
BILL BULEY/Press
COEUR d'ALENE — Don’t be alarmed about that smoky haze that filled the skies above Lake Coeur d’Alene Tuesday.
It’s not from North Idaho wildfires. It’s likely from the Yakima area, where the Evans Canyon fire was burning 5,000 acres by the afternoon, threatening structures while homes were being evacuated.
Marin Sanborn, fire public information officer with the Idaho Department of Lands, said Tuesday there were no significant wildfires burning in North Idaho.
There were some smoke checks in the Tensed area and one in south Chilco, which could mean small fires, but nothing major and nothing that would generate a lot of smoke.
So the smoke above Coeur d'Alene "could be coming from out of state,” Sanborn said.
There were also fires burning in Montana and south of North Idaho, with smoke drifting this way. Boise was affected by smoke from fires burning in California, and a blaze was burning near Orofino, but Sanborn said it was doubtful that smoke reached North Idaho.
According to the National Weather Service, some patchy smoke is due again today before clearing out tonight. Then sunny skies and warm temperatures are on tap through the holiday weekend.