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Barbecue away, the regional burn ban has been lifted

The Puget Sound Clean Air Agency lifted the regionwide burn ban just before noon Saturday.

The ban, which applied for Pierce, King, Kitsap and Snohomish counties, pertained to barbecues, campfires, fire pits and other outdoor blazes.

Air quality throughout the region has improved as onshore flow has cleared out some of the smoke brought into the Puget Sound region from wildfires in British Columbia.

The safer air quality is expected to remain into next week, the agency says. Higher elevations may still have to deal with wildfire smoke, and the haze will remain in the area.

At one point Friday, air quality in Tacoma was twice as bad as it was in Beijing at the same time.

Fire safety burn bans are still in place, the agency advises.