Puget Sound Clean Air Agency Has Rated Our Air Quality as "GOOD"

The City of Tacoma has established an Air Quality Relief Site at Metro Parks’ Eastside Community Center (1721 E. 56th Street), which operates daily from 8 AM to 4 PM for any resident who needs refuge from smoke beginning September 16, 2020. We are anticipating the site will be operational through Wednesday, September 23, 2020.

The site is operated by community partners and Pierce County Medical Reserve Corps. will be onsite to provide COVID-19 screenings. The site can accommodate up to 50 people at a time.

People who visit the site are required to follow Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department physical distancing requirements and wear masks while inside. 

Water will be provided and donations of non-perishable pre-packaged snacks can be made at the site. 

Wildfire smoke reduces visibility and creates outdoor air quality issues that can affect people’s health. Women who are pregnant, children and the elderly, and those who have respiratory issues like asthma, COPD, people who smoke, have disabilities, or heart or circulatory problems are more at risk. During Wildfire Smoke Season, follow these steps to protect your health in the haze: 

• Talk with your health care provider if you have respiratory or circulatory illnesses about air quality issues and how to protect yourself.
• If you have shortness of breath, wheezing, chest pain, heart palpitations, extreme fatigue or difficulty moving, contact your healthcare provider immediately or call 9-1-1.
• If you have questions about lung health, managing asthma or allergies or for air quality issues you can call the American Lung Association’s Lung HelpLine at 1-800-LUNGUSA (586-4872) Monday through Friday 9 AM to 5 PM and weekends 9 AM to 5 PM.
• For more information about how to protect your and your family's health visit Washington State Department of Health.
• Follow the suggested activity guidelines from the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency.