Darrington, Marysville tackle wood smoke to address poor air quality

DARRINGTON — Dan Rankin pointed to a white plume rising from a chimney. He noted the waxy filter it created, masking the trees behind.

The mayor of Darrington then drove through the town, pointing out households that had replaced wood stoves with more air-friendly alternatives.

Tucked in a North Cascades mountain valley, Darrington is uniquely vulnerable to pollution from wildfires and residential wood burning. The logging town, along with more populated parts of Marysville and Monroe, has some of the worst air quality in Snohomish County, according to the county’s Climate Vulnerability Tool.

Two decades ago, Rankin worked with the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency to install the town’s first air quality monitor. At the time, the town’s air ranked worst in the state on some winter days. Through robust outreach programs, Rankin and state experts taught the town’s nearly 1,400 residents about the climate and health risks of wood stoves and other wood burning.

https://www.heraldnet.com/news/darrington-marysville-tackle-wood-smoke-to-address-poor-air-quality/