Though not as devastating as the raging wildfires themselves, smoke from the fires is much more pervasive and widespread, posing a threat to those with breathing difficulties across heavily populated areas a hundred miles and more away from the fires.
The raging Northern California wildfires won’t be without consequences for the San Francisco Bay Area this weekend, reports the San Jose Mercury News.
The Carr Fire in Shasta County, the Mendocino Complex and Eel fires in Mendocino and Lake counties, and the Ferguson Fire in Mariposa County will create enough haze this weekend that authorities issued an Air Quality Advisory. The advisory falls short of a Spare the Air Alert, when wood-burning is prohibited, but northerly winds and changing wind patterns are expected to make it tougher to breathe, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District said.
The smell of smoke may be present, and residents were urged to stay inside as much as possible. Those with breathing problems, especially asthma, may want to limit their activities, according to the advisory.
All five of those fires continued to burn through the night. More than 10,000 fire crews are battling 16 wildfires in the state of California, according to the California Department of Forestry.
