UPDATE: Air Quality Advisories Issued for Thursday, Friday Due to Wildfire Smoke
SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) -- The Bay Area Air Quality Management District has issued air quality advisories for Thursday and Friday because of wildfire smoke returning to the region, according to officials.
The levels of pollution are not expected to exceed federal health standards or prompt a Spare the Air alert.
The air district said Wednesday that the ongoing wildfires in Northern California are likely to cause hazy and smoky skies for the next two days, with some smoke coming to the surface at times, but the overall air quality expected to be good to moderate in the region.
The advisories were issued Wednesday as most of the Bay Area enjoyed a respite from the wildfire smoke as wind pushed the smoke from the Caldor and Dixie fires towards the northeast since Tuesday.
The air quality advisories have come frequently in recent weeks because of wildfire smoke, and when the pollution levels have been worse, the air district has issued the Spare the Air alerts that ban wood burning both inside and outside.
If anyone smells smoke, they should try to stay inside with windows and doors closed, and should set their air conditioning and car vent systems to recirculate to stop outside air from coming inside, according to the air district.
Residents can keep track of the latest air quality readings at baaqmd.gov/highs or the AirNow Fire and Smoke Map at fire.airnow.gov. The independently run air monitoring website PurpleAir.com also provides localized air quality measurements.
To find out when a Spare the Air Alert is in effect, residents can sign up for text alerts by texting the word "START" to 817-57, register for email AirAlerts at sparetheair.org, call 1(800) HELP-AIR, download the Spare the Air App or connect with Spare the Air on Facebook or Twitter.
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