Template:Did you know nominations/2022 Bolt Creek Fire

The following is an archived discussion of the DYK nomination of the article below. Please do not modify this page. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as this nomination's talk page, the article's talk page or Wikipedia talk:Did you know), unless there is consensus to re-open the discussion at this page. Track your hook after promotion. No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was: promoted by Crisco 1492 (talk) 02:10, 9 May 2026 (UTC)

2022 Bolt Creek Fire

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Fire smoke viewed from the west

... that the Seattle area had among the worst air-quality in the world some days of the 2022 Bolt Creek Fire (smoke pictured)?

Source: https://www.axios.com/local/seattle/2022/10/20/bolt-creek-fire-update-smoke "On Wednesday afternoon, Seattle's air quality ranked as the worst in the world, according to IQAir's comparison of city air quality and pollution levels. Seattle's air quality continued to be very unhealthy on Thursday."

https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/seattles-air-quality-among-worst-world-second-day-row/T3LLXXLHYNFQ5D6C2Z4SGKHA7Q/ "On Thursday, the poor air quality landed Seattle the top spot for the worst air quality in the world among major cities for the second day in a row, according to IQAir’s air quality and pollution city ranking."

- Reviewed: Template:Did you know nominations/Tsugaruite

Moved to mainspace by Kevmin (talk). Number of QPQs required: 1. Nominator has 387 past nominations.

Kev min § 17:21, 19 March 2026 (UTC).

QPQ is done and page was moved recently enough. WP:EARWIG says copyvio unlikely. I see no sources that jump out to me as unreliable, and the hook is cited within the article and verified by the cited sources. Article is presentable and hook is quite interesting. This seems good to me. ArtemisiaGentileschiFan (talk) 00:54, 20 March 2026 (UTC)
- @ArtemisiaGentileschiFan and Kevmin: I originally promoted but I decided to self-revert. The reason is that "one of the most" does not comply with WP:DYKHOOKCITE well since the claim is "among the worst", which does not comply with the guideline for superlatives. A better hook would specifically say IQAir ranked it the worst, thus making it clear it's only that specific agency making the claim (if others did as well, provide sources for each, and limit it to those specific agencies saying so).--Jasper Deng (talk) 03:12, 6 April 2026 (UTC)
  - I specifically chose the wording I did in accordance with Superlative. I stated among the worst, I did NOT say it was the worst.--Kevmin § 12:01, 6 April 2026 (UTC)
    - The source arguably is not saying "among" the worst, and this WP:EXCEPTIONAL claim should have more than one source anyways. Feel free to ask for a third opinion but I myself won't promote at this time.--Jasper Deng (talk) 19:07, 6 April 2026 (UTC)
      - I have added both Business Insider and NBC news references that support the article wording and hook.--Kev min § 23:49, 6 April 2026 (UTC)
        @Kevmin: I still think specifically saying IQair rated it the worst would be better. PurpleAir and other websites also rank air quality so I really think it is not factually accurate to make a general statement based off one agency's rating.--Jasper Deng (talk) 19:31, 8 April 2026 (UTC)
        If PurpleAir and other websites had reported on the situation and been picked up by sources, please show that they are. I cant document what does not exist.--Kev min § 14:18, 9 April 2026 (UTC)
        Kevmin, the NBC and Insider sources also attribute this claim to IQAir. I think Jasper Deng is right and we can't claim in wikivoice that the Seattle area had among the worst air-quality (which is not quite stylistically correct), since all the sources in the article attribute this claim solely to IQAir. If this is the hook, it needs to be attributed. With two promoters (me and Jasper) now saying this hook can't move forward as written, I'm pulling the tick until a suitable hook is proposed and approved. Dclemens1971 (talk) 13:47, 16 April 2026 (UTC)

... that IQAir ranked Seattle and vicinity as having among the worst air-quality in the world some days of the 2022 Bolt Creek Fire (smoke pictured)?

This is a widely reported fact that made multiple independent news agencies during the fire. There is no reporting at shows contradictory opinions in any sourcing. this is not a controversial statement and I have specifically chosen a wording that is factually accurate but avoids issues with superlatives.--Kev min § 16:03, 16 April 2026 (UTC)

I think this is better, rephrasing as follows. ALT1: ... that on some days during the 2022 Bolt Creek Fire (smoke pictured), IQAir ranked the Seattle area's air quality as one of the worst in the world? (BTW, we also have recent precedent (here, here) that we don't need to name IQAir even in attributing the claim.) Dclemens1971 (talk) 16:43, 16 April 2026 (UTC)

P.S. To be presentable, the article needs a thorough copyedit for errors like A helicopter rescue crew patrolling for stranded hikers in the vicinity of the for on the 10th..., In the week leading up to that labor day weekend a red flag warning had been issues across the region, The fire was noted to likely be one of the largest that had happed in Snohomish County, Additional sprinkler systems were emplaced on wooden bridged..., This sentence (the one with the hook fact) needs to be rewritten as it's not particularly clear: October 19 and 20 saw Seattle ranking among IQAirs top 10 worst air quality conditions globally, rising and falling in ranking repeatedly over the 48 hour period, and spending time as the worlds worst air. There are multiple instances of SR 2 which I assume based on the sources should be U.S. Route 2. Dclemens1971 (talk) 16:54, 16 April 2026 (UTC)

@Dclemens1971: copyediting has been done.--Kev min § 03:47, 25 April 2026 (UTC)

Smoke plume from Bolt Creek fire

I think some more could be done, but I am putting the tick back for ALT1. Note this approval is based on hook only and relies on the original reviewer's assessment of other eligibility factors. Per Viriditas' suggestion of another image option at Wikipedia_talk:Did_you_know/Archive_214#Additional_input_requested_at_2022_Bolt_Creek_Fire I am approving it for the promoter to choose. Dclemens1971 (talk) 20:23, 26 April 2026 (UTC)