SLO County issues air quality alert as wildfire smoke fills Central Coast skies
An air quality alert was issued for San Luis Obispo County through Monday as smoke from wildfires burning around California fills Central Coast skies.
The county Air Pollution Control District and Public Health Department sent out the warning on Friday afternoon, urging people to stay inside over the weekend if possible.
Local conditions on Friday appeared worst in San Luis Obispo and on the North Coast, with a high air quality index of 171 at 5 p.m. in Cayucos, according to iqair.com. San Luis Obispo registered at 163, while Paso Robles was 124.
“Until many of the large fires burning are put out, SLO County can expect skies to be hazy and fine particulate (PM 2.5) concentrations and ozone to be higher than normal,” the county said in a news release. “We may also see high levels of larger particulates (ash) to be present as well.
“Changing winds make it difficult to predict which areas of the county may be most affected. However, until the fires are put out, elevated air pollution levels will likely be intermittently present in our region.”
Conditions were expected to worsen over the weekend, with IQAir predicting numbers approaching 300 in the North County, which is just shy of the hazardous designation.
The air district urged residents in areas with smoke and falling ash to take the following precautions:
- Head indoors and remain indoors, if possible.
- Avoid strenuous outdoor activity.
- Close all windows and doors that lead outside to prevent bringing additional smoke inside.
Although the air quality in San Luis Obispo County is poor, it’s a far cry from the worst conditions seen elsewhere on the West Coast.
South of Bass Lake, the town of North Fork led IQAir’s list of the worst air in the country Friday with an air quality index (AQI) of 1064.
The site’s top 10 was filled with cities across the West, from Phoenix to Walla Walla, Washington. All posted AQIs above 500 on Friday.
