Why Tri-Cities, Washington Smells Like Rotten Fish in the Spring

Every spring across the Tri-Cities, there’s a short window where the air can take on a… let’s just say unpleasant scent like rotten fish.

Others describe it as something even worse. Either way, the smell is strong, it is everywhere, and it can be hard to escape in the spring.

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If you’ve stepped outside lately and thought, “What is that smell?”, this is probably what it is.

The Beautiful Blooming Tree Behind the Fishy Smell

The culprit and cause of the fish smell is the Bradford pear tree, a decorative tree that blooms with bright white flowers this time of year.

They look great. They smell… not so great.

These trees were planted all over places like Kennewick, Pasco, and Richland because they grow quickly and give neighborhoods that clean, uniform look. We have rows of them along the streets in my neighborhood, and have them in front of the business where I work.

Why Do They Smell So Bad?

The flowers release chemicals meant to attract pollinators, but to us, they smell like fish that's gone bad.

Nature is doing its job, just not in a way that works for people who have to be around it.

When you have a lot of these trees in one compact area, the smell can really build up, especially in the heat of the sunshine.

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They do have a few other downsides besides the smell. They have weak branches that tend to break in the high winds of our area. They also tend to spread easily, which can be a problem for homeowners dealing with yearly sprouts.

Even with all of that, they are still all over the northwest, and in big numbers.