Air Quality

Air Quality Advisory Extended Through Thursday Due to Wildfire Smoke

A helicopter flies through a smoky sky to make a water drop at the Oak Fire.
DAVID MCNEW/AFP via Getty Images

An air quality advisory for wildfire smoke in the Bay Area has been extended until Thursday by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District.

Although winds from the Oak Fire in Mariposa County have continued to blow into the Bay Area, the air district says the smoke is expected to remain in the air, causing smoky, hazy skies to possibly be visible.

The smell of smoke could potentially be present at higher elevations, but the air quality is forecast to be in the good to moderate range, according to the district.

The district said pollutant levels are not expected to go past the national 24-hour health standard.

Bay Area residents are advised to protect their health by avoiding exposure to the smell of smoke if it is present. Precautions include staying inside with windows and doors closed until smoke levels subside and setting air conditioning units and car vent systems to re-circulate setting to help prevent outside air from coming inside if there's smoke.

Air quality readings can be found here.

You've seen it in your phone's weather app, and we use it on TV: a color-coded scale where low numbers mean clean air and high numbers mean dirty air. As fire season continues in the Bay Area, here's what the numbers and colors mean, and how they're calculated.
Copyright BAYCN - Bay City News
Contact Us