Wildfire Haze Around Puget Sound
Story + Photography by Sara Montour Lewis
Our Wild Puget Sound started as a way to take a deep dive into stories relating specifically to Puget Sound and to create an ongoing collection of images that document the lives, work and ecology sustained by the entire Puget Sound watershed.
Some days this means we get to watch otters frolicking at Deception Pass or tag along with researchers as they study the creatures that inhabit our waters. Unfortunately there’s also another huge part of the greater story here that deals with how quickly the environment is changing, how humans are playing a part in that and how that impacts the incredible Puget Sound that we love so much.
This week the Puget Sound watershed is hosting some of the worst air quality in the world as wildfires rage in the western states and the smoke from California + Oregon traveled our way, lingering for days with very little relief in the forecast. Also serving as a great reminder that we’re all connected, even from thousands of miles away, as we’re standing in Washington state, breathing in the smoke from wildfires in our neighboring states.
We’ve mostly been at home this week, parked in front of our makeshift air filter that turned black within hours, while the air quality index outdoors continues to climb. Late last week, though, we took a quick lap around Puget Sound to see how our favorite waters were handling it, and it was admittedly heartbreaking to witness the dramatic shift of the shores that we know so well. It’s hard not to feel like we haven’t lived up to our responsibility of being great stewards for this planet and that we can’t wait any longer to make bold moves to ensure the health of the Earth and of each other.
