Air Quality Smoke Advisory for July 18

Press release from North Coast Air Quality Management District:

The Hill Fire burning located in Humboldt County, Six Rivers National Forest (South of Willow Creek) is active and bringing smoke impacts to areas along the Hwy 299 corridor and south of the fire. Additionally, the Shelly Fire located in Siskiyou County, Klamath National Forest is seeing increased fire activity, with smoke remaining localized and pooling in the river drainages.

Air quality monitors and the current Air Quality Index (AQI) for communities should be viewed at https://fire.airnow.gov. USFS Air Resource Advisors (ARAs) may be assigned to fires impacting our area (https://outlooks.wildlandfiresmoke.net/outlook).

ALERT – Hazardous (AQI 301 and higher, 24 hr. avg):

None

ADVISORY – Unhealthy to Very Unhealthy (AQI 151-300 range, 24 hr. avg):

None

Regional Smoke Outlooks – Good , Moderate , to Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups (AQI 0-150 range):

Humboldt County:

• Eureka area (including Scotia to Trinidad) – Good conditions

• Hoopa – Good to Moderate

• Willow Creek – Good to Moderate

• Bridgeville – Moderate, with periods of Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups

• Garberville – Good to Moderate

• Dinsmore – Moderate, with periods of Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups

Del Norte County:

• Crescent City – Good conditions

• Gasquet – Good conditions

Trinity County:

• Weaverville area – Good to Moderate, with periods of haze

• Trinity Center – Good to Moderate, with periods of haze

• Hayfork – Moderate, with periods of Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups

• Burnt Ranch – Moderate, with periods of Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups

• Hyampom – Moderate, with periods of Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups

• Ruth, Dinsmore and Mad River – Moderate, with periods of Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups

U.S. EPA AIR QUALITY INDEX (https://www.airnow.gov/aqi/aqi-basics/)
Notice	Level of Concern	AQI Value	Actions to Protect Yourself
	Good	0 – 50	None, air quality is satisfactory and poses little or no risk
	Moderate	51 – 100	Sensitive individuals should limit prolonged or heavy exertion
	Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups (USG)	101 – 150	People within USG should reduce prolonged or heavy outdoor exertion
Advisory	Unhealthy (UH)	151 – 200	People within USG should avoid all prolonged or heavy outdoor exertion
	Very Unhealthy (VUH)	201 – 300	Everyone should avoid prolonged or heavy exertion
Alert	Hazardous (HAZ)	> 301	Everyone should avoid any outdoor activity

Air quality monitors and the current Air Quality Index (AQI) for communities should be viewed at https://fire.airnow.gov. Particulate Matter (PM2.5) monitors have been deployed in Eureka, Crescent City, Gasquet, Hoopa, Klamath, Orleans, Willow Creek, and Weaverville.

Clean Air Centers provide a safe place to go during periods of intense wildfire smoke or poor air quality. For information about available Clean Air Centers go to: CARB’s CA Clean Air Centers (https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/cleanaircenters).

Fire information can be found at http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/ or https://fire.airnow.gov/ or app.watchduty.org. As with all wildfires, ash fallout is possible. Ash fallout information can be found in the Wildfire Smoke Resources section of our webpage at www.ncuaqmd.org.

USFS Air Resource Advisors (ARAs) are assigned to certain fires impacting our area and are providing daily Smoke Outlook Forecasts on one or more of these fires (https://outlooks.wildlandfiresmoke.net/outlook).

Health Information & Actions to Protect Yourself from Smoke Impacts

Concentrations of smoke may vary depending upon location, weather, and distance from the fire. Smoke from wildfires and structure fires contain harmful chemicals that can affect your health. Smoke can cause eye and throat irritation, coughing, and difficulty breathing. People who are at greatest risk of experiencing symptoms due to smoke include: those with respiratory disease (such as asthma), those with heart disease, young children, and older adults.

These sensitive populations should stay indoors and avoid prolonged activity. All others should limit prolonged or heavy activity and time spent outdoors. Even healthy adults can be affected by smoke. Seek medical help if you have symptoms that worsen or become severe.

Follow these general precautions to protect your health during a smoke event:

• Minimize or stop outdoor activities, especially exercise.

• Stay indoors with windows and doors closed as much as possible.

• Do not run fans that bring smoky outdoor air inside – examples include swamp coolers, whole-house fans, and fresh air ventilation systems.

• Run your air-conditioner only if it does not bring smoke in from the outdoors. Change the standard air conditioner filter to a medium or high efficiency filter. If available, use the “re-circulate” or “recycle” setting on the unit.

• Do not smoke, fry food, or do other things that will create indoor air pollution.

Consider leaving the area until smoke conditions improve if you have repeated coughing, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, wheezing, chest tightness or pain, palpitations, nausea, unusual fatigue, lightheadedness.

For information on the steps, you can take to keep your family safe before and during wildfire season:

CARB’s Smoke Ready CA (https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/smokereadyca).

For further information, visit the District’s website at www.ncuaqmd.org or call the District’s Wildfire Response Coordinator at (707) 443-3093 x122.