Smoke Drifting From Wildfires Likely to Remain Until Monday

Drifting smoke from wildfires in Lake County and elsewhere in Northern California was reported in at least four Bay Area counties yesterday, causing concerns for people with respiratory problems. The Marin County Fire Department urged residents to use care if exercising outdoors, especially for those with breathing disorders.

Ryan Walbrun, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said that while the Rocky and Jerusalem fires in Lake County were still creating smoke, the majority of the smoke drifting into the Bay Area yesterday was from wildfire activity in Trinity County, near the Oregon border.

That smoke was carried down through the Sacramento Valley by a north wind, according to Walbrun. With no storm on the immediate horizon, however, the smoke will likely linger in the Bay Area until carried out to sea by offshore breezes.

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“I wouldn’t really expect any improvement Sunday with the fires and the wind pattern,” Walbrun said. “Hopefully if we get a little west wind by Monday afternoon that will start to filter things out.”

A Spare the Air Alert has been issued for today due to concerns about smog, but a representative for the Bay Area Air Quality Management District said the wildfires were not a factor in that decision.

By Bay City News

Caption: Mad River Complex fire in Trinity County in early August.

Photo courtesy Alameda Fire from Alameda Fire Deployed to Help Battle Wildfire in Trinity County