Why isn't wildfire smoke lingering over Washington state?

Wildfires are raging in British Columbia, Oregon, and Idaho, but Washingtonians are still breathing easy, with fresh, clean air.

Why?

That’s because of wind: Fresh ocean air from the Pacific is blowing over Washington state.

“We're getting a lot of onshore flow, westerly flow,” said Beth Friedman, an atmospheric scientist and the lead air quality modeler and forecaster with the state’s ecology department. “It’s pushing any smoke that's present to the east.”

“We're not seeing it above us,” she added. “It's not hanging out aloft in the atmosphere and contributing to nice sunsets or anything like that. It's just moving away.”

That pattern should last through the week.

But we’re not out of the woods yet. The hot, dry conditions statewide could set the groundwork for bad wildfires in August and September.

RELATED: Drought conditions lead to several new, large fires in WA, OR

“I’d just continue to urge people to be careful of anything that could start a fire,” Friedman said. “We want to keep the air quality as good as it can be. And so, yeah, continue to practice vigilance and be really careful out there when you're recreating.”

If fires start in eastern Washington, and the wind shifts, the region's summer of clear skies could come to an end.