[Photo: Sequoia Nat’l Forest ]
Gusty winds and wildfire smoke prompts the Valley Air District to issue a health cautionary statement effective Monday, October 9th through the evening for Fresno, Kings, Tulare & Valley air basin of Kern Counties.
“So, the fires that are occurring up north right now – the wind is pushing it out back in the Pacific so we are not seeing anything from that,” says Cassandra Melching from the Valley Air District, however she says the Valley is being affected by the Lion Fire burning in Tulare County.
“So that is the one that we are getting smoke from here in the Valley, and we’re hoping these winds will blow through and then we’ll get a little bit of a reprieve, hopefully by Wednesday we will see an improvement in our conditions and air quality.” — Cassandra Melching, Valley Air District.
The Lion Fire is creating small particulate matter – elevated levels of PM10 and PM2.5, that can be hazardous for peoples’ health, by aggravating lung disease, triggering asthma attacks and bronchitis, and increasing the risk of Valley Fever and respiratory infections.
Older adults and children should avoid prolonged exposure, outdoors.
Residents can check the District’s wildfire page at www.valleyair.org/wildfires for information about any current wildfires and whether they are impacting the Valley.
Residents can also check the nearest air monitor to their location to determine localized air-quality conditions.
Visit the Real-time Air Advisory Network page on the District’s website to subscribe for free: www.valleyair.org/RAAN.
Click below to listen to the report by KMJ’s Liz Kern:
