Poor air quality in Bay Area extends wood burning ban through Friday
Bay Area air quality district officials have called another Spare the Air alert through Friday because of heavy smoke from the Camp fire in Butte County.
The alert, the fifth since the devastating Camp fire began Thursday morning, bans wood burning throughout the nine-county Bay Area. Monday's alert through Friday means the Bay Area will have 10 straight days of prohibition on wood burning, said Lisa Fasano, a spokeswoman for the Bay Area Air Quality Management District.
Fasano said air quality in the North Bay on Monday morning was in the “orange zone,” defined as unhealthy for sensitive groups. But by 12 p.m. much of Sonoma County entered the “red zone,” where all could experience adverse health effects.
“We are not forecast to have any weather system that will help blow the smoke out of the bay area,” Fasano said.
Sensitive groups, which include those with heart or lung disease, older adults, and children, should reduce prolonged or heavy exertion. By 1 p.m., a vast swath of the Bay Area core and Central Valley was the “red zone,” where all residents may begin to experience negative health effects.
Only the San Jose region was in the orange zone. Fasano pointed out that Spare the Air alerts are called when a region enters the orange zone. The ban includes the indoor or outdoor burning of manufactured fire logs or any other solid fuel.
Bay Area air quality officials said air quality is expected to remain unhealthy due to an abundance of smoke being trapped near the ground and the surrounding the region.
Jack Broadbent, executive officer of the Bay Area air district, said any “additional smoke from Bay Area chimneys could push the region into an even higher unhealthy air quality level, which puts us all in jeopardy.”
Air district officials said Bay Area residents should limit outdoor activity as much as possible during the alert. People are advised to stay indoors with windows and doors closed.
In a statement issued Monday afternoon, district officials said, “masks should not be used instead of remaining indoors, but if worn, they should be a new, clean N95 mask or greater, securely strapped for a tight seal. Masks are not suitable for men with beards or young children.”
You can reach Staff Writer Martin Espinoza at 707-521-5213 or martin.espinoza@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @renofish.
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