Day 465 – US – Washington [Coulee City to Wilbur]

13/07/21

50.2km

  From Coulee City (Washington) to Wilbur (Washington)

North America

Hot and long run through the smoke from the fires raging across Washington State

Fiery morning skies

I hit the door very early today, there were 50 kms on the menu and the temperatures were supposed to be sky high. Though as I hit the road, this is not what worried me most. The sunrise was eerily fiery. The air was hazy, smelling of burnt wood and the wind was strong. Not a good combination in times of record breaking temperatures. From this point on, I spent the whole run looking at the live fires map & air quality measurement websites.

Poor visibility as smoke filled the valley

I soon got confident that I was not in the near vicinity of a live fire. It was burning west near Ellensburg and Wenatchee, north to Nespelem and south to Walker Canyon. The immediate danger was not fire itself but the smoke. The first 20km of the run were very windy and other than the smell of burning, it didn’t affect me much. Once the wind cooled down, it seemed the whole valley filled with smoke. It was the haziest I’ve ever run through, it was not healthy at all (US AQI index up 163, in the “unhealthy” category – I technically shouldn’t have been outdoors). There was nothing on the road until Wilbur, my only option was to make it to Wilbur.

Running in the middle of a fires infested region…

I was focused on spotting any signs of symptoms (dizziness, nausea, coughing, difficulty breathing, headache) – but I made it to Wilbur without a sign of ill health. I took a lot of breaks, drank loads of water and made sure I didn’t run any of the uphills, keeping my breathing the easiest I could. As I approached Wilbur a couple stopped their car near me. They had spotted me earlier as I left Coulee City this morning. They gave me ice-cold water which I very much appreciated.

The only option today: follow that road to safety

There is no telling how this will evolve. All I can do is monitor the situation and prioritise being safe first. The fires and the poor air quality is now a national issue in the US, at least it’s got coverage and there are plenty of good sources to follow the situation live. I have contacts in Spokane now (thanks to Lisa whom I met a few days ago out of Ellensburg) giving me confidence that if I feel threatened in any way, there are people nearby I can call.

Check out today’s flyover video: https://www.relive.cc/view/vrqDdBzygLq

Check my daily run GPS data on or

Here is the map of today’s run: