Fresno area ‘surrounded by fires.’ Residents warned to stay inside from record-bad air
A record-breaking fire season means record-breaking air pollution for California’s central San Joaquin Valley, and relief is not coming soon.
Over 3.2 million acres of California have burned in the 2020 fire season, sending out billowing towers of smoke that reached thousands of miles away.
As a result, the central San Joaquin Valley is “breaking records for air quality, in a bad way,” according to Jon Klassen, director of air quality science and planning with the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District.
“In a normal fire season we may have one fire in the Sierra Nevadas or a fire down in Southern California, so if the wind is blowing in a certain direction we may not be getting those impacts,” Klassen said on a video news conference Monday.
“But because of what we’re experiencing here, where we’re surrounded by fires, no mater what happens with the weather, it seems we’re going to continue to have smoke in the Valley.”
Air quality is unhealthy for everyone in the Valley Monday, with the Air Quality Index measuring above 150. Anything below 50 is considered good and safe. It’s particularly bad in Fresno and Clovis.
It has reached hazardous levels in some areas, including Madera.
Air quality alert: ‘stay inside’
It’s a serious risk to everyone, even healthy adults.
Air quality officials have repeatedly urged residents to stay inside to protect health and prevent injury, including cardiovascular and respiratory illness from exposure to wildfire smoke.
“We understand people are sick and tired of being inside because of COVID,” said Jaime Holt with the Valley Air District. “But right now it’s very important you continue to stay inside. And, it’s very important to change the air filter in your HVAC (system).”
When asked about the risk to people who ignore the warnings and instead go outside to go jogging, for example, Holt likened their decision to smoking a pack of cigarettes.
Generally, air filters need to be changed every few months. Holt recommends changing filters every two to three weeks due to the heavy wildfire smoke.
The air quality is unhealthy for everyone, with prolonged levels of particulate matter threatening to trigger asthma, harm lung development in children, or cause heart attack or stroke in older adults.
Not everyone can stay inside to stay safe. Farm workers, gardeners, pool maintenance people, outdoor custodians are all at risk, especially if physically laboring outside.
In those situations, employers are legally required to reduce employee exposure to PM 2.5 and provide proper respiratory protection equipment, such as N95 respirators. Workers are encouraged to discuss this Cal/OSHA safety requirement with their employer, or contact OSHA directly with a complaint.
The Fresno District Office can be reached at DOSHFresno@dir.ca.gov or 559-445-5302.
This story was originally published September 14, 2020 at 2:58 PM with the headline "Fresno area ‘surrounded by fires.’ Residents warned to stay inside from record-bad air."
