The Bay Area Air Quality Management District extended its wildfire smoke advisory through Friday, Aug. 7, two days beyond the original Tuesday-through-Wednesday window that began Aug. 4.
The extension, announced Wednesday morning, came because ground-level smoke from Pacific Northwest wildfires remains unpredictable, the Air District said. As we reported Aug. 5, the initial advisory covered only Tuesday and Wednesday.
Smoke is drifting south from dozens of blazes in Oregon and Washington. The largest, the Rowe Creek Complex in Wheeler County, Oregon, has burned roughly 325,000 acres and sits at 57% containment as of Wednesday. The Shingle Fire across Crook, Grant and Wheeler counties has burned about 70,500 acres at 50% containment, according to IQAir's wildfire tracking data.
BAAQMD meteorologist Duc Nguyen told KQED on Aug. 4, when the initial advisory was issued, that the smoke would enter the Bay Area "right through the Golden Gate area." That same smoke system has now prompted the extension.
The Air District told KRON4 that pollution levels are not expected to exceed the EPA's federal 24-hour health standard for fine particulate matter, and no Spare the Air Alert is in effect. But conditions can shift quickly, and air quality could reach unhealthy levels in some spots.
This event is separate from the Woodside and Mines fires that triggered a Spare the Air alert Friday, July 31, through Saturday, Aug. 1.
Who's most at risk
Older adults, children and people with respiratory conditions including asthma, emphysema and COPD should take extra precautions, the Air District said. The agency recommends all residents stay indoors with windows and doors closed when smoke is visible, use indoor air filtration and set vehicle ventilation to recirculate.
Where to go for clean air
All five Palo Alto library branches serve as filtered-air refuges during normal operating hours:
- Downtown Library, 270 Forest Ave.
- Mitchell Park Library, 3700 Middlefield Rd.
- Rinconada Library, 1213 Newell Rd.
- Children's Library, 1278 Harriet St.
- College Terrace Library, 2300 Wellesley St.
Residents can monitor real-time conditions at fire.airnow.gov. The Air District has not announced a follow-up date but said it will continue monitoring conditions beyond Friday.
