Prescribed burn in Marin County's China Camp State Park creates smoky haze over San Francisco

MARIN COUNTY -- A prescribed burn that started Thursday morning in China Camp State Park has created a haze of smoke hanging over San Francisco Bay that is drifting into other parts of the region.

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The Marin County Fire Department issued an advisory about the burn, which was the second day of a prescribed burn scheduled to last from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. While the advisory noted that neighborhoods surrounding China Camp State Park -- which is located northeast of San Rafael along edge of San Pablo Bay -- might see and smell smoke due to the fire abatement operation, smoke was visible drifting across the Bay from the KPIX Salesforce Tower camera facing to the northeast.  

Authorities advised the community to refrain from calling 911 to report smoke from the burn area, but weather conditions made the smoke cover a much larger area than anticipated, creating a far wider impact in Marin County and San Francisco. The smell of smoke was prevalent downtown near the KPIX studio.

While a Spare the Air Alert was not issued, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District posted about the impact the burn was having on the area shortly before 4 p.m.

"A temperature inversion is also trapping pollutants from sources like wood burning and vehicle pollution near the ground," the post on X noted. "If you smell smoke, avoid exposure."

People can find the latest air quality readings in their part of the region by visiting:

AirNow - fire.airnow.gov

IQAir - www.iqair.com

Bay Area Air Quality Management District - baaqmd.gov

Northern Sonoma County Air Pollution Control District - nosocoair.org/

Purple Air - purpleair.com

In:
• Air Pollution
• Air Quality
• Wildfire Smoke
• San Francisco
• Marin County