Finally, No Smoke In The Air For Bay Area

Finally, harried denizens of the Bay Area can look forward to some respite from drafts of smoky air that have kept them home-bound over the last week.

Air quality management officials let out that particulate matter in the air was in the way of containment, and the unhealthy air warnings issued over the last fortnight would most likely be lifted very soon.

As predicted earlier, marine breeze coming into the area has managed to lift the haze of smoke to a considerable extent.

Jim Smith, spokesman for Bay Area Air Quality Management District said, “Air quality conditions improved the last 24 to 48 hours… What happened was the marine air level came in and was clearing out parts of the Bay Area of particulate matter. In other areas, it lifted it to a height that doesn’t affect human health.”

It is expected that declaration of good air quality is imminent for central and south central bay. Eastern and northern bay, including Santa Clara County, can look forward to a health advisory in the moderate range.

The warnings about unhealthy air had kept residents of the Bay Area indoors, primarily because of the risks the smoke posed for general health, especially in the case of children, the aged, and those suffering from respiratory ailments.

The Los Padres National Forest near Big Sur had been billowing smoke over the last week, after lightning sparked off the Basin Complex fire, leading to widespread devastation across an area of 27,000 acres.

Yet to be contained completely, the fire has destroyed 16 homes and continues to be a threat to at least 575 others. Further south, the Indians fire had been sparked June 8 by a campfire gone awry. Having razed nearly 60,000 acres, it went on to pose a serious threat to 422 homes.

Pollution levels had sky rocketed following these and other wildfires in the vicinity. In Northern California, pollution readings ranged from two to 10 times the federal standard. Health advisories from air quality districts between Bakersfield and Redding were issued throughout the weekend.

Federal standards stipulate airborne particulate matters at an average of 35 parts per million over a duration of eight hours. An alert is usually flagged when it crosses this benchmark.

San Jose recorded a preliminary average of 42 ppm on Friday; which later peaked to 65 ppm, according to Smith. Things were much better Saturday, with a preliminary average reading of 24 ppm, he said.

Smith added, “We’re cautiously optimistic that air quality will be improving day by day. Of course, that could change with any additional fires or different wind patterns."

All this seems to be good tidings for Bay Area residents and at last, it looks like the tide has blown over.