Air quality advisory issued as wildfire smoke blankets Bay Area

Regulators issued an air quality advisory for the Bay Area on Thursday as smoke from surrounding wildfires affected the region. The advisory lasted into Friday, but experts said coastal winds might clear out the smoke by Thursday night.

Smoke pollution was varied throughout the nine Bay Area counties. The EPA’s Fire and Smoke map, which residents can use to check smoke levels in their neighborhood, showed relatively worse air quality in the East Bay and North Bay Thursday evening. No Spare the Air alert is in effect.

Kristina Chu of the Bay Area Air Quality Management District advised people in affected areas to stay inside with doors and windows closed if possible. Residents can further reduce exposure by setting air conditioners to recirculate or by heading to “clean air” locations with filtered air, such as malls and libraries. Populations that are more vulnerable to smoke pollution, including the elderly, children and people with respiratory conditions, should be especially careful.

“Just because you’re not smelling it doesn’t mean you’re not impacted,” Chu said. “Exposure to wildfire smoke is unhealthy, even for short periods of time.”