Air quality nosedives across southern california, with smoke forecast through the weekend

Southern California air quality took a nosedive Friday as smoke from wildfires up and down the state choked the region with unhealthy levels of lung-damaging pollution. The worst pollution

since the record-setting firestorm began last month has been in the Bay Area and the Central Valley, where millions have spent weeks exposed to air made unhealthful by wildfire smoke. The

smoke has been so thick in some areas that it’s been in the “very unhealthy” or even “hazardous” range on the Air Quality Index. Southern California had been faring better, despite the

massive blanket of smoke flowing over the entire West Coast and extending far out over the Pacific Ocean. Things took a turn for the worse Friday, with levels of fine particle pollution —

tiny, health-damaging soot particles known as PM2.5 — violating health standards across most of the Los Angeles Basin. As of Friday afternoon, pollution was highest in areas of the San

Gabriel Valley downwind of the Bobcat Fire, where PM2.5 was in the “very unhealthy” range. Air quality was unhealthy across much of the Los Angeles area, including Central and South L.A. and

southeast L.A. County. Smoke advisories will remain in effect throughout the day and likely into the weekend, said Philip Fine, deputy executive officer of the South Coast Air Quality

Management District. Fine said the unpredictability of wildfires — including how long they will burn, how hot they will be and how much smoke they will create — make it difficult to forecast

air quality beyond one or two days. But, he said, air quality over the weekend will likely not be great. “Throughout Southern California, everybody is experiencing this,” Fine said. “It

looks like it’s overcast, but a lot of that is smoke from the Northern California and Oregon wildfires. They have created a plume up and down the West coast that’s over a thousand miles

wide.” The plume is “generally moving south,” he said, although that can change at any moment. “If you’re looking at the air monitoring data in northern California and Oregon right now, I’ve

never seen anything that widespread and bad,” Fine said. “Thankfully, we’re not experiencing it at that level down in Southern California, at least [not] as widespread.” Yet poor air

quality is being felt by many people in the areas near the Bobcat fire. Smoke has contributed to the closure of eight parks in Los Angeles County: Eaton Canyon, Devil’s Punchbowl, Frank G.

Bonelli Regional Park, Lario Staging Area, Marshall Canyon, Peck Road Water Conservation Park, San Dimas Canyon Natural Area and Santa Fe Dam Recreation Area. 1/23 Brooks Hubbard with the

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers takes photos from the historic North Broadway Bridge over the Los Angeles River Tuesday morning as smoke and ash from the Bobcat fire cloak the area.  (Al

Seib/Los Angeles Times) 2/23 Elijah Simpson practices shooting hoops against a backdrop of smokey skies from the Bobcat Fire at Angel’s Gate Park in the San Pedro on September 16, 2020.  

(Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times) 3/23 A helicopter fights the Bobcat fire burning dangerously close to Mt. Wilson Observatory.  (Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times) 4/23 An aerial view of Dodger

Stadium and the downtown Los Angeles skyline at sunset is obscured by smoke, ash and smog on Sept. 14.  (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times) 5/23 Visitors check their photos at Griffith

Observatory with a smoky view of the Hollywood sign behind them.  (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times) 6/23 Two people get ready to surf as a hazy red sun sets off Hermosa Beach.  (Jay L.

Clendenin/Los Angeles Times) 7/23 Smoke from the Bobcat fire burning in the Angeles National Forest blankets the Southland.  (Al Seib/Los Angeles Times) 8/23 An airplane flies through smoky

skies in downtown Los Angeles.  (Dania Maxwell/Los Angeles Times) 9/23 A smoky haze envelopes Santa Monica Beach.   (Jay L. Clendenin/Los Angeles Times) 10/23 Beachgoers walk along the

shoreline in Laguna Beach beneath a hazy sky.  (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times) 11/23 A crow on a cypress tree in Garden Grove is silhouetted by a sun obscured by ash from Southland

wildfires.  (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) 12/23 The sky is gray over the Santa Monica Pier as a family plays in the breakwater.   (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times) 13/23 A man

walks his dog past the historic lifeguard tower in Laguna Beach as the sun is obscured by smoke from wildfires.  (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times) 14/23 An upbeat message on the South

Coast Cinemas marquee in Laguna Beach is dimmed by the smoky air.  (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times) 15/23 Surfers near the Manhattan Beach Pier under a smoky sunset.  (Jay L.

Clendenin/Los Angeles Times) 16/23 Gray skies over the Santa Monica Pier.   (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times) 17/23 A hazy sun is seen behind the Christ Cathedral in Garden Grove.  (Allen

J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) 18/23 Despite the unhealthful air quality, Fabian Ortez of Riverside enjoys an afternoon of fishing off the pier in Seal Beach.  (Francine Orr/Los Angeles

Times) 19/23 The Christ Cathedral in Garden Grove.  (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) 20/23 A bicyclist travels along the 1st Street Bridge as smoke hovers east of downtown Los Angeles.

  (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) 21/23 Haze from the Bobcat fire looms over Azusa as it burns in Angeles National Forest.  (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) 22/23 The Los Angeles

skyline is shrouded in smoke from the Bobcat fire as seen from the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles.  (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 23/23 Haze from the Bobcat fire looms over Kare

Park in Irwindale.  (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) Here is some general advice from the Air Quality Management District, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health and the

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Tips: * Stay indoors, if possible. * Keep windows and doors closed. * Check local public health alerts and the Southern California air quality

map. * Find an air-conditioned place, like a designated L.A. County Cooling Center. * People with heart or lung disease (including asthma), the elderly and children should take extra

precautions, as they may be more likely to experience poor health if they breathe in wildfire smoke. * Avoid vigorous physical activity. * Run your air conditioner if you have one. Make sure

it has a clean filter and that it is recirculating the indoor air to prevent bringing additional smoke inside. * Create a clean air space in your home by using a portable air cleaner

instead of or in addition to your air conditioner. Do this in one or more rooms with the doors and windows closed. * Avoid using a whole-house fan or a swamp cooler with an outside air

intake. * Avoid using indoor or outdoor wood-burning appliances, including fireplaces and candles. * Do not rely on dust masks for protection. Paper “dust masks” can block large particles

such as sawdust but do not protect your lungs from the small particles or gases in wildfire smoke. Disposable respirators such as N-95 or P-100 respirators can offer some protection if they

are worn properly and have a tight fit. As for the cloth masks many are relying on for COVID-19 protection, Fine said they’re not very effective for small particulate matter from wildfire

smoke, though they may provide some relief from larger particles such as ash. N95 masks are better, but not foolproof, he said. “The better thing to do, if you’re being exposed, if you’re

feeling it in your lungs, if you see or smell smoke or ash,” he said, “is to try to stay indoors and avoid vigorous, physical activity outdoors, or even indoors in some cases.” Extreme heat

and fires have brought the worst air quality in decades to Southern California. Fine said the confluence of so many wildfires and so much smoke is a rare combination, creating extreme

conditions. Lung-damaging ozone pollution in Los Angeles reached its highest levels in a generation and set records in other parts of Southern California during the blistering Labor Day

weekend heat wave, air quality readings show. Ozone pollution spiked to 185 parts per billion in downtown Los Angeles at midday Sunday, according to South Coast Air Quality Management

District monitoring data. It was the highest hourly reading in Southern California since 2003 and the highest in downtown L.A. in 26 years. MORE TO READ