Mike Wrobel, who is also visiting the area, said the smoke has been hard to escape.
Relief could soon be on the way for Leavenworth and the surrounding areas after days of smoky conditions and poor air quality caused by active wildfires.
Air quality in the area ranged from very unhealthy to hazardous all week as crews worked to contain multiple wildfires. For the first time in days, conditions improved enough Wednesday for visitors to finally spend time outside.
"We were really relieved today when it was better," said Becky Sakumoto, who is visiting Leavenworth. "We were like, oh my goodness, we can actually breathe better. It was a whole week in it."
Mike Wrobel, who is also visiting the area, said the smoke has been hard to escape.
"It's been difficult, to be honest with you. You can certainly notice it when you go outside; you smell like you've been camping in front of the fire the last few hours, and you were out for two minutes," Wrobel said.
Wrobel and his wife are in the middle of a cross-country road trip and are adjusting their route to avoid the wildfires.
"We're leaving tomorrow to go to Montana just to escape some of the problems we're having here," he said. "After three or four days of this, it kind of affects you."
Hazy conditions remain in the area, but visitors say it's an improvement from earlier this week, when air quality ranged from very unhealthy to hazardous in areas like Wenatchee — marking some of the worst air quality in the country.
"It's about twice as bad — you could barely see anything from a quarter mile in any direction," Wrobel said, describing conditions earlier in the week.
The smoke has caused uncomfortable symptoms for many camping and visiting the area.
"Wheezing and stuff like that — luckily I have medications to help me with that," said Gerald Lui-Kawan, visiting Leavenworth. "It's probably not great to be outside."
"Coughing, the burning in the back of the throat, and our lungs are feeling — I don't know how to describe it," Sakumoto said. "We don't smoke, so I feel like we smoke now."
But relief may be on the way. According to forecasts from the Washington Department of Ecology, conditions are expected to improve through the weekend.
