Smoke could return with shifting winds
Many Bay Area residents have literally breathed a sigh of relief this week as the smoke that clogged the air for the past month finally cleared out. At least for the time being. The many wildfires burning in Northern California since midAugust consistently funneled smoke to the Bay Area, causing unhealthy, sometimes hazardous air quality conditions. A thick, smoky cloud from the more recent Oregon and Washington blazes choked the Bay Area, even turning the sky an apocalyptic shade of orange last week.
A record 30 consecutive days of Spare the Air alerts were issued by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District. The alert was finally lifted at midnight on Wednesday, but an air quality advisory remains in effect due to some lingering
hazy skies.
So can we expect conditions to stay pleasant through the weekend?
“The winds are bringing clean air over the ocean into the Bay Area, and pushing (the smoke) eastward,” said Tina Landis, spokeswoman for the air quality management district.
That means most of the Bay Area is seeing good air quality right now, but the Central Valley is still experiencing some poor conditions, Landis said.
Shifting winds — and the smoke they bring with them — could change things come Saturday, though.
Because of the smoke anticipated to affect the North Bay, eastern Contra Costa County and the Livermore Valley, a Spare the Air Alert was issued for Saturday.
“The winds are expected to shift on Saturday to northerly winds, and we could get smoke from fires in Northern California, potentially Oregon and Washington,” Landis said. “That could affect Solano, eastern Contra Costa County and parts of the East Bay.” Landis encourages people to check the air quality management district’s website for the most recent air quality index levels before making weekend plans.
Those weekend winds won’t be as swift as they were 10 days ago, when much of the Bay Area was blanketed by an orange glow, but some smoke may still settle in, said Brayden Murdock, a National Weather Service meteorologist.
Friday’s afternoon high temperatures across the Bay Area were the coolest of the week, with San Francisco at 69 degrees, and parts of the North and Easy Bay in the upper 70s to lower 80s.
But the cooler temperatures won’t last long. The region will start to see some gradual warming going into the weekend, with some inland areas seeing a 5degree uptick.
“It’s not a drastic warmup like we saw earlier in the month, but it’s still something to watch out for,” Murdock said.
Fortunately, no drylightning storms that can spark more fires are expected anytime soon near the Bay Area, Murdock said. Oregon and Washington, though, may not be so lucky going into the weekend.
More air quality resources:
The Bay Area Air Quality Management District (baaqmd.gov) collects and posts searchable AQI readings from air monitors around the region. You can also sign up for air quality alerts and get information about health and safety.
Airnow.gov, a partnership run by the EPA including federal, state and local air monitoring agencies, offers a “onestop source for air quality data,” including interactive maps with local, national and world views. It also offers a Fire and Smoke
Map with current fire conditions and air quality data including readings from the crowdsourced PurpleAir network.
The Chronicle’s California Air Quality Map (at sfchronicle.com) lets you zoom in to see readings in your area. It draws from the PurpleAir network and is updated every 10 minutes. Chronicle staff writer Michael Williams contributed to this
report.