Air quality alert extended through Thursday as smokey skies continue

The layer of smoke that has blanketed Whidbey Island for the past week will stick around for at least two more days.

The National Weather Service sent out an alert Tuesday morning reporting a “dry, stable air mass” will continue to hover over Western Washington through “at least” Thursday.

The alert is until noon on Thursday.

This isn’t the first time the air quality alert has been extended. The initial alert sent out Aug. 1 was until noon this past Thursday, before being extended through Saturday.

It has since been extended through Monday and once more through Thursday this week.

The smoke stems from wildfires burning in Washington and British Columbia.