Pacific Northwest Wildfires May Worsen Air Quality in the Bay Area, Officials Warn
Wildfire smoke from the Pacific Northwest could settle over the Bay Area, impacting air quality in the coming days, according to climate officials.
The Bay Area Air District issued an air quality advisory for Tuesday and Wednesday, warning about the possibility of hazy skies as fires burning across Oregon and Washington exhibit what the National Interagency Fire Center called “extreme fire behavior.”
“Smoke has already been drifting offshore. It’s moving south, and those smokes are expected to drift and move down along the coast,” said Duc Nguyen, a meteorologist with the Bay Area air district. “Essentially, it’s going to enter the Bay Area right through the Golden Gate area.”
Dozens of fires, including the Rowe Creek Complex Fire near Bend, Oregon and the Little Giant Fire near Lake Chelan in Washington, have burned hundreds of thousands of acres in the Pacific Northwest in recent weeks. Many were started by lightning strikes, which ignited dried-out trees and debris in hot, windy conditions that made it easy for fires to spread.
Although air quality throughout the Bay Area was mostly in the healthy range midday Tuesday, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s monitoring, the air district predicted that levels could slip into the ‘moderate’ to ‘unhealthy for sensitive groups’ zones throughout the day.
Pollution levels between 50 and 100 are considered moderate, and can be a risk for a small number of people, while levels between 100 and 150 can cause adverse health impacts for sensitive groups. In those conditions, older people, children and those with respiratory illnesses like asthma, emphysema and COPD should take extra precautions to avoid exposure, according to the air district.
Wildfire smoke contains fine particulate matter, most commonly PM2.5, and other harmful pollutants that are unhealthy, even for short periods of exposure.
Nguyen said that since the exact impact of the smoke is hard to predict, depending on the weather and wind conditions across the state, residents should monitor their local air quality and take precautions if their area’s pollution levels are elevated.
The agency recommended that Bay Area residents stay inside with windows and doors closed if there is smoke in their area. If they are driving, people can reduce smoke exposure by setting car vents to recirculate, to prevent outside air from entering the vehicle.
“We are in the peak of the wildfire season, a lot of lands are being burned and it’s really impacting the health of a lot of people,” Nguyen said.
“We’re going to be watching very closely just to try to understand the impact and also getting some guidance,” he said.