Wildfire smoke continues to persist in the Bay Area, prompting the region’s air quality regulators to issue another Spare the Air alert for Saturday that bans the burning of wood or other solid fuels. As of Friday afternoon, air quality had improved to hover in the high range of “moderate,” down from the “unhealthy for sensitive groups” levels that persisted earlier in the week.
The Bay Area Air Quality Management District issued the Spare the Air alerts for Wednesday through Friday of this week because of smoke coming from wildfires further north in California and in southern Oregon.
On Spare the Air days, it is illegal in the nine-county Bay Area to use fireplaces, wood stoves, outdoor fire pits or any other wood-burning devices. If people smell smoke, the district advises them to stay inside with windows and doors closed, and to set air conditioning units and car vent systems to recirculate to prevent outside air from coming inside.
People can find a map of the latest air quality readings by visiting https://fire.airnow.gov/.
A cold front moving in from the Pacific Northwest will keep temperatures cool and bring a chance of rain to the Bay Area over the next few days, according to the National Weather Service.
Piedmont could see scattered showers starting Monday. Rainfall totals in the area are forecast to reach anywhere between .01 inches to .15 inches, according to the weather service. The North Bay, particularly northern and coastal Sonoma County, is likely to see widespread showers and up to a quarter-inch of rain starting late Sunday and lasting into Tuesday.
Should the forecast prove accurate, it will be the first time since May that the region has seen noticeable rainfall. During the next few days, temperatures should continue to be cooler than normal, with daytime highs in the mid to upper 60s.
Lows are expected to be in the mid 50s, according to the weather service.