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Watch Your Ash! AQMD Urges Minimizing Exposure
Remnants of the Station Fire (Photo by purplemonkeydishwasher73 via Flickr)
With our Thanksgiving-week weather forecast calling for high temps and Santa Ana winds we're also finding that our air is full of "ash and dust from areas burned by recent wildfires [which] is being blown across Los Angeles County," according to CBS2. Some residents may have noticed an excess of particles in the air or built up on the exteriors of their parked cars yesterday, thanks to the ash that fell "in the San Fernando and San Gabriel valleys, north and east of downtown Los Angeles." Much of the ash being blown is from the massive Station Fire that raged across 160,577 acres in LA County, while multiple smaller brush fires also have ash being carried by this latest crop of hot, gusty winds.
The South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD) is keeping a watchful eye on our air quality, and while "particles haven't reached unhealthy levels yet" they are cautioning "people to minimize exposure." This applies to everyone, but in particular those who suffer from heart or lung disease, the elderly, and children. As precaution, "limit outdoor activities in places where ash and dust is seen in the air."
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