Wildfire Smoke Expected To Return To Bay Area Skies On Friday; Air Quality Advisory Issued
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) – After several days of clear skies and clean air, the possibility of wildfire smoke has prompted an Air Quality Advisory for the Bay Area on Friday.
The Bay Area Air Quality Management District issued the advisory on Thursday, as smoke from the August Complex Fire burning in the Mendocino National Forest is expected to drift into the North Bay and parts of the East Bay, causing hazy skies.
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Officials stressed that AQI levels are expected to remain in the good to moderate range, but officials said they would continue to monitor air quality throughout the region. A Spare the Air alert has not been issued.
Online Air Quality Resources:
- Bay Area Air Quality Management District
- BAAQMD Current Air Quality
- EPA AirNow
- Purple Air – A good way to track trends in air quality related to particulate matter, but the sensors may register higher numbers than the air actual air quality.
Smoke from massive wildfires burning in the Bay Area and across Northern and Central California prompted a record 30 straight Spare the Air alerts from August 18th through September 17th. During the record stretch, skies were often hazy, AQI levels were often in the unhealthy range, and skies turned an unprecedented orange on September 9th.
The August Complex has burned 862,733 acres (1,348 square miles) as of Thursday, an area larger than the state of Rhode Island. Sparked by last month's lightning storm, it is the largest wildfire in California history.
Containment was at 38 percent on Thursday, but fire officials said full containment may not come until November.
