The Bay Area Air District extended an air quality advisory Saturday for the Bay Area through Monday because of smoke from wildfires burning in the northern Sacramento Valley.
Firefighters from the Alameda County Fire Department and the San Francisco Fire Department have been sent to assist with the fight.
Smoke is forecast to continue to move down the valley Sunday and Monday and create potentially unhealthy conditions, particularly in the North Bay and East Bay, along with higher elevations in the Bay Area.
The Green Fire started in Shasta County on July 1. It had burned about 9,563 acres as of Saturday night and 5% contained, Cal Fire said. The fire is burning in Shasta-Trinity National Forest, and the response is being led by the U.S. Forest Service.
Another group of fires being called the Orleans Complex is burning in Siskiyou and Del Norte counties. Those fires had burned 5,843 acres as of Saturday night and had zero containment.
Alameda County firefighters arrived to help fight the Green Fire on Thursday.
The San Francisco Fire Department said Saturday it had sent a unit leader and a base camp manager to the Green Fire in Shasta County and a strike team with five engines and 16 personnel to the Orleans Complex.
The Air District said conditions could change rapidly, and said it was hard to predict how much smoke would impact ground elevations. Pollution levels are not forecast to pass the 24-hour threshold that would trigger a Spare the Air Alert from the Air District, which would restrict wood burning.
The advisory recommended those in impacted areas stay inside and close doors and windows while smoke levels are high. Running vehicle air conditioning on recirculate can help reduce outside air entering a vehicle.
Smoke pollution levels can be checked at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s website.
Information to receive automatic alerts from the Bay Area Air District can be found here.
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