🌤️ Tacoma Weather Today - 91 | Partly Sunny | HEAT ADVISORY! 🥵

📆 Tacoma Area Events

😶‍🌫️ Smoky Skies Ahead

🫐 Tacoma’s Blueberry Secret

🆒 New A/C Law for Rentals

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Tacoma may see hazy skies this week as wildfire smoke drifts into Western Washington.

The smoke is expected to come mainly from fires burning in Eastern Washington and British Columbia, with the Kaiser Canyon and Modrite fires among the major contributors. While the worst air quality impacts are expected closer to the fires, people in Pierce County may notice a smoky look to the sky, especially during the current stretch of hot weather.

Residents with asthma, heart or lung conditions, older adults, children, and anyone sensitive to smoke should keep an eye on air quality before spending extended time outdoors. Even when smoke is mostly overhead, conditions can change quickly, so it is a good time to limit strenuous outdoor activity if the air quality worsens and keep windows closed when smoke is noticeable.

The smoky skies are arriving during a heat advisory, which makes this a week to be a little extra cautious: drink water, stay cool, check on vulnerable neighbors, and watch both the temperature and the air quality before making outdoor plans.

For air quality in Tacoma click here.

Did you know there’s a place right here in Tacoma where you can pick pesticide-free blueberries — for free?

Charlotte’s Blueberry Park, located at 7402 E. D St. on Tacoma’s Eastside, is one of those local treasures that feels almost too good to be true. The 20-acre park is filled with blueberry bushes, and picking season typically runs from July through September, making this a perfect time to stop by with a bucket, a few kids or grandkids, and a little patience.

The park has deep roots, too. Before becoming a public park, the land was Berg’s Blueberry Farm from 1952 to 1968. Parks Tacoma officially took over the property in 1997 and preserved it as a community space. Today, it remains part park, part neighborhood food forest, and part summer tradition hiding in plain sight.

For more information, click here.

As hot weather moves through Western Washington, renters and landlords should know about a new state law covering portable air conditioning that went into effect June 11, 2026.

Under the new Washington law, landlords generally cannot ban renters from using portable cooling devices, including floor-standing portable air conditioners, portable heat pumps, and some window-mounted units. The law does not require landlords to provide air conditioning, but it does give renters more ability to bring in their own cooling device.

There are still rules. Renters must give at least two days’ notice before installing a window-mounted unit, and landlords can set reasonable restrictions for safety, building codes, insurance, electrical capacity, window type, or installations that would require major alterations. With more hot days in the forecast, this is something both renters and landlords should know before the next heat wave hits.

For a more detailed explanation of the new law, click here.

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