This Tiny Washington County Ranks Among the ‘Most Polluted’ Places to Live in America

See why this county with a rather small population of about 44,000 consistently gets bombarded with air particles. So much so, that the American Lung Association (ALA) ranked it #13 worst air in America.

Why Okanogan Has the Worst Air in Washington

Washington is well known for having generally fresh Pacific Northwest air, especially in regions surrounded by lush evergreen trees and national forests. I will note, though, that in the Nickelodeon show, iCarly, when she was being sent to go live with her grandfather, she sarcastically said she couldn't wait to get some of that "fresh Yakima air." There's a good reason for that, so keep reading because I'll explain why the American Lung Association agrees with that, too!

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In its State of the Air report the ALA lists Okanogan County, Washington as one of the most air particle polluted counties in the country. Are you just as shocked as I am? Let's see what factors make Okanogan get this kind of 'award.'

#1. Location, Location, Location

I'm not saying we should blame our dear friends in Canada for anything, but I am saying Okanogan County's proximity to the Canadian border makes it a prime spot to receive all the wildfire smoke each year.

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#2: Brr, It's DUSTY in Here, There Must Be Some PARTICLES in the Atmosphere, I Said, Brrr...

Okanogan's location in a valley helps it to trap a lot of dust, causing a bit of havoc on our lungs, thus the big spot on the ALA list. Farming dust, wildfire dust, and general dust from the ground and surrounding hills--that's what's to blame for the major amount of air particles here.

Read More: The Hottest Zip Code to Live in Washington State Is 98004: See Why

Read More: Washington - 107.3 KFFM | https://kffm.com/tags/washington/?utm_source=tsmclip&utm_medium=referral

Yakima in the News Again -- This Time It's for Having Bad Air

The ALA report also mentioned Yakima County for having the 16th worst short-term air in the country, coming in one rank higher than Okanogan County! This is because of the high rate of wildfires and brushfires.

Many Yakima County locals consider "wildfire" as the fifth weather season of the year.