- Elizabeth Larson
- Posted On
Thick smoke creates unhealthy air quality, causes temperatures to drop
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – As hundreds of thousands of acres of land burn across California and Oregon, more smoke and haze have moved into the Lake County air basin, continuing hazardous air conditions for residents.
The Lake County Air Quality Management District said all areas of Lake County are forecast to have air quality conditions ranging from “unhealthy for sensitive groups” to “unhealthy” and “very unhealthy” through Thursday.
Overall conditions should remain in the “unhealthy for sensitive groups” range with periods of “unhealthy” air quality until the smoke plumes shift, the district reported.
The air district said the smoke impacts in Lake County and the rest of the state are coming from the August Complex in the Mendocino National Forest, which was up to 372,012 acres on Wednesday; the 863-acre Oak fire near Willits; the 252,163-acre North Complex burning in the Plumas National Forest; the Red Salmon Complex, which has burned 71,610 acres in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest; and any other fires in Northern California and Oregon.
Officials said areas in Lake County that are closer to the fires, including Lake Pillsbury, Spring Valley and areas north of the Highway 20 corridor, should use additional caution as localized smoke impacts may be significant until the fires are completely out.
The LNU Lightning Complex in Colusa, Lake, Napa, Solano, Sonoma and Yolo counties, is nearing full containment, which has significantly reduced the smoke impact, the air district said.
On Wednesday, the smoke impacts colored the sky over Lake County an orangish-brown, with air quality and visibility so poor that drivers were using headlights early in the afternoon and streetlights came on hours earlier as if it were already evening.
The National Weather Service’s Sacramento office said Wednesday that the thick smoke across Northern California resulted in temperatures being as much as 30 degrees cooler than forecast in some locations.
In Lake County, the National Weather Service said temperatures were up to 14 degrees cooler than expected.
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