NCUAQMD Air Quality Smoke Advisory for Today

Press release from North Coast Air Quality:

Firefighters have successfully increased containment and reduced fire activity on the Hill Fire south of Willow Creek. Smoke impacts from the Hill Fire will be limited to the fire perimeter and nearby drainages (depending on fire activity and conditions). The Park Fire south of Red Bluff remains active with the heaviest smoke impacts focused to the north and east of the fire. There may be periods of smoke intrusion into northeastern Trinity County with haze aloft in areas further to the west through Saturday. Expected thunderstorms in inland areas will bring a change in weather, bringing increased winds and better dispersion. However, dry lightning associated with the thunderstorms may result in new fire starts. Coastal and inland areas of Humboldt, Del Norte and western Trinity County may see some smoke and haze aloft depending on conditions.

Air quality monitors and the current Air Quality Index (AQI) for communities should be viewed at the EPA’s AirNow Fire & Smoke Map at https://fire.airnow.gov. US Forest Service Air Resource Advisors (ARAs) may have deployed on a fire and may issue Smoke Outlooks which can be found at https://outlooks.wildlandfiresmoke.net/outlook.

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

None

ADVISORY status – 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) – Overall Good conditions

• Willow Creek – Overall Good, with periods of Moderate, haze aloft

• Orleans – Overall Good conditions, with periods of haze aloft

• Hoopa – Overall Good conditions, with periods of haze aloft

• Garberville – Overall Good conditions

• Shelter Cove – Overall Good conditions

Del Norte County:

• Crescent City – Overall Good conditions

• Gasquet – Overall Good conditions

• Klamath – Overall Good conditions

Trinity County:

• Weaverville area – Overall Good conditions, with periods of Moderate, haze aloft

• Lewiston – Overall Moderate, with periods of smoke

• Trinity Center – Overall Moderate, with periods of smoke

• Hayfork – Overall Good conditions, with periods of Moderate, haze aloft

• Mad River, Ruth – Overall Good conditions, with haze aloft

 

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

 

Information on the current Air Quality Index (AQI) for particulate matter, fire locations and smoke plumes, and US Forest Service Air Resource Advisor (ARA) Smoke Outlook Forecasts, are available at the EPA’s AirNow Fire & Smoke Map at https://fire.airnow.gov.

US Forest Service Air Resource Advisors (ARAs) are assigned to certain fires that may impact our area and are typically provide daily Smoke Outlook Forecasts for local communities around active wildfires at https://outlooks.wildlandfiresmoke.net/outlook.

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 at https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/cleanaircenters.

For information about School Air Quality and Outdoor Activity Guidance during wildfires please visit https://www.ncuaqmd.org/aq-guidance-for-schools.

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.

Health Information & Actions to Protect Yourself from Smoke Impacts

For information on the steps, you can take to keep your family safe before and during wildfire season visit CARB’s Smoke Ready California (https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/smokereadyca).

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