Wildfire smoke drifting south from Oregon and Washington will push Palo Alto's air quality into unhealthy territory for some residents Tuesday and Wednesday, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District warned in an advisory issued Tuesday, Aug. 4.
The smoke is unrelated to the Woodside and Mines fires that triggered a Spare the Air alert last week. This time, dozens of blazes burning across the Pacific Northwest are the source, including the Rowe Creek Complex Fire near Fossil, Oregon (320,834 acres, 53% contained as of Aug. 3) and the Little Giant Fire near Leavenworth, Washington (38,530 acres, zero containment). Many were sparked by lightning. The National Interagency Fire Center described the fires as exhibiting "extreme fire behavior."
Air quality readings could slip into the "moderate" (AQI 50–100) or "unhealthy for sensitive groups" (AQI 100–150) range as smoke shifts through the region. Pollution levels are not expected to exceed the EPA's 24-hour health standard for fine particulate matter, and no Spare the Air Alert is in effect.
"It's going to enter the Bay Area right through the Golden Gate area," BAAQMD meteorologist Duc Nguyen told KQED, describing smoke already moving south along the coast.
Older adults, children and people with asthma, emphysema or COPD are especially vulnerable. The district recommends keeping windows and doors closed, setting car vents to recirculate and seeking buildings with filtered air when smoke is noticeable.
Palo Alto libraries already open as filtered-air refuges
All five city library branches, already activated as cooling centers under a heat advisory since Monday, Aug. 3, can double as clean-air shelters during normal operating hours. As we reported Monday, the city opened the branches in response to a National Weather Service heat advisory expected to continue through Tuesday.
The locations:
- 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 check real-time conditions on the EPA's Fire and Smoke Map at fire.airnow.gov. The district said it will continue monitoring and update guidance if conditions worsen beyond Wednesday, Aug. 5.
