[3][4] One of these located south of Lind in Adams County was ignited on the morning of August 4 and grew to more than 2,000 acres (810 ha).

[5] Smoke from the Cedar Creek Fire in central Oregon moved into Southwest Washington then the Puget Sound region on September 10;[6] on that day Seattle recorded the worst air quality of any major city in the world.

[9][10] By early October the fire was 36 percent contained and continuing to spread northwards into the Wild Sky Wilderness, causing poor air quality in western Washington.

[13][14][15] On the weekend of October 15–16, easterly winds over the Cascades brought dry, subsiding air and record temperatures to the Puget Sound area.

The weather conditions contributed to the initiation and expansion of fires on the west slopes of the Cascades,[16] and the worst air quality of the season so far occurred in Seattle that weekend.