Smoke blows into S.F.; residents told to stay inside
The thick, wildfirefueled smoke that blanketed Wine Country this week began blowing into San Francisco on Friday, raising fears that air quality could deteriorate into the notorious haze that hung over the Bay Area during last year’s Camp Fire.
The National Weather Service said winds driving smoky air from Sonoma County’s 23,700acre Kincade Fire to the south would likely continue through at least Saturday morning. Areas as far south as Monterey were forecast for sooty skies.
While the run on air masks that came last November as Bay Area residents gasped for clean air had yet to occur, air regulators issued their third straight Spare the Air Alert for the region for Saturday, advising people to avoid vigorous outdoor activity and to try to stay indoors.
Air traffic controllers, meanwhile, were monitoring the smoke to see if changes to flights at Bay Area airports were necessary.
And many in the region, threatened with another forced blackout by Pacific Gas and Electric Co., remained concerned that their air purifiers and air conditioning would stop working, only making it harder to take a deep, healthy breath.
“The poor air quality combined with the power outage
means people will not be able to operate their HVAC systems with filtration, go to buildings that have filtered air” or run home air purifiers, said Contra Costa County Supervisor John Gioia. “You can imagine the complications from that.”
Public health officials say the best way to cope with smoke is to stay indoors, seal windows and doors, and try to create clean air zones. Though face masks remain a popular purchase, health experts do not advise people use them as a substitute for seeking out clean air, and warn they can lull people into a sense of safety while not offering meaningful protection against fire smoke.
The Kincade Fire, which ignited Wednesday night near Geyserville, continued to whip up a huge plume of smoke and remained just 5% contained on Friday evening.
National Weather Service meteorologist David King said winds across the region would likely pick up Saturday afternoon or evening, elevating the fire danger, but that a shift in direction could prove beneficial for San Francisco and the East Bay, as the North Bay smoke moves elsewhere.
“Winds will start pushing out to the ocean,” King said.
Neither San Francisco International Airport nor Oakland International Airport reported smokerelated delays Friday afternoon.
The Federal Aviation Administration, which controls air traffic, said it was in communication with local forecasters to see if tweaks to flight operations would be needed.
“They expect smoke in the Bay Area to increase, which will decrease visibility,” FAA spokesman Allen Kenitzer said in an email. “Our air traffic controllers will then increase separation between aircraft to mitigate this concern.”
The Bay Area Air Quality Management District’s Spare the Air Alert in nine Bay Area counties for Saturday comes as regulators anticipate continued high levels of particulate matter, or soot.
These particles, which aren’t visible but create a dense fog, can lodge in people’s lungs and prompt a range of problems, from mild coughing and wheezing to chronic cardiovascular discomfort.
On Friday afternoon, these pollutants remained at mostly low or moderate levels outside of the North Bay, exceeding the 150 mark of “unhealthy” on the district’s 0to500 Air Quality Index only in Sonoma County. But the numbers were expected to increase elsewhere as more smoke poured south.
During the Camp Fire, when smoke from Butte County billowed across the state for a week or more, the district’s Air Quality Index ran into the 200s across the Bay Area, considered “very unhealthy” and comparable to air in some of the world’s most polluted cities.
“We don’t know exactly what will happen tomorrow (Saturday),” said Ralph Borrmann, an air district spokesman. “It depends on the wind, the extent of containment of the fire and whether more fires break out.”
The district advised that children, the elderly and anyone sensitive to smoke be prudent about limiting exposure. Closing windows and staying inside is recommended, and anyone who must be outside is urged to avoid rigorous cardiovascular tasks.
Officials warned Bay Area residents to be prepared for unhealthy smoke through Monday, particularly those closest to the Kincade Fire.
Walter Batt, 47, and his girlfriend Jessica Banda, 42, who were forced to evacuate their Geyservillearea home because of the blaze, were allowed to return briefly to pick up a few essentials, and they were sure to grab their face masks, apparently unaware of the latest thinking on such gear.
They bought a longlasting variety for $30 apiece after the Wine Country fires in 2017 and donned their masks Friday.
“If we’re overprepared, we’re prepared,” Batt said.