Smoke from California fires sweeps across Carolinas, experts say

RALEIGH, N.C. — Hazy conditions in the Carolinas on Tuesday morning can be traced to catastrophic events taking place on the other side of the country, weather experts say.

The National Weather Service in Raleigh posted on Facebook Monday night to tell people the smoky air is from the California wildfires.

The post included a map showing a flow of haze sweeping from California into Texas and taking aim at Charlotte and Raleigh as of 8 a.m. Tuesday.

The weather service’s air quality forecast maps show the streak of haze gradually shifting across South Carolina and other parts of the Southeast into Tuesday afternoon.

Seventy-nine deaths were reported as of Monday in Butte County’s Camp Fire, which at 151,000 acres is “the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California history,” The Sacramento Bee reported.

As of last week, the fire had burned more than 1.6 million acres of land, making it the worst California wildfire in at least 15 years, according to The Bee.

North Carolina had its own wildfires in 2016 that scorched thousands of acres in the western region, The Charlotte Observer reported.

Smoke from those fires caused unhealthy air quality conditions for people with breathing problems in the region.

The smoke brought to North Carolina from the California wildfires, however, shouldn’t pose much threat.

“Much of the smoke will be in the mid to upper atmosphere and air quality is still expected to be good at ground level,” the weather service wrote in the post.