Those in Valley encouraged to stay indoors this weekend Wildfires causing unhealthy air quality
The San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution District reissued a health caution on Friday, stating it will remain in place until all of the state’s wildfires are extinguished.
There have been eight wildfires across the state that have been dumping smoke and accompanying particular matter, including PM2.5 into the Valley. The district stated PM2.5 concentrations continued to increase throughout the week, leading to unhealth air quality in the Valley.
The District stated it anticipates unhealthy air quality to affect the Valley through the weekend and encouraged residents to stay indoors.
The District stated the following fires are producing smoke that’s infiltrating the Valley: The SCU Lightning Complex Fire, located in multiple Northern California counties, including Stanislaus and San Joaquin Counties; the Hills Fire, located in Fresno County west of Avenal near Highway 33; the CZU August Lightning Complex Fire, located in various locations across San Mateo and Santa Cruz Counties; and the Lake Fire located in Los Angeles County southeast of Lebec.
The District stated counties impacted are San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Merced, Madera, Fresno, Kings, Tulare and Kern.
Air pollution officials caution Valley residents to reduce exposure to the particulate matter emissions by remaining indoors in these affected areas. PM pollution can trigger asthma attacks, aggravate chronic bronchitis,and increase the risk of heart attack and stroke. Individuals with heart or lung disease should follow their doctors’ advice for dealing with episodes of PM exposure.
Those with existing respiratory conditions, including COVID-19, young children and the elderly, are especially susceptible to the health effects from this form of pollution. Anyone experiencing poor air quality due to wildfire smoke should move indoors to a filtered, air-conditioned environment with windows closed.
The district stated face coverings people wear may not protect them from wildfire smoke.
Residents can use the District’s Real-time Air Advisory Network (RAAN) to track air quality at any Valley location by visiting myraan.com.
District air monitoring stations are designed to detect microscopic PM2.5 particles that exist in smoke.
However, larger particles, such as ash, may not be detected. Those smell smoke or see falling ash in their immediate vicinity should consider air quality “unhealthy” (RAAN Level 4 or higher) even if RAAN displays a lower level of pollution.
The public can also check the District’s wildfire page at www. valleyair.org/wildfires for information about any current and recently past wildfires affecting the Valley.
In addition, anyone can follow air quality conditions by downloading the free “Valley Air” app on their mobile device. For more information, visit www.valleyair.org or call a District office in Fresno (559-230-6000), Modesto (209-557-6400) or Bakersfield (661-3925500).