How Long is the Smoke Expected to Continue Over the Bay Area
Smoke from California's largest fire of 2022 prompted Bay Area air quality officials to warn that some people in the region with respiratory issues may need to take precautions in the coming days as a 17,241-acre blaze continues to burn west of Yosemite National Park.
More smoky skies are forecast for the Sierra Nevada on Tuesday morning, though the curtain of smoke may briefly ease somewhat during the afternoon hours as winds shift from the west, according to the National Weather Service.
On Monday, plumes from the Oak Fire caused a fourth day of air quality issues across the Sierra, the National Weather Service and federal air quality sensors reported. The fire pushed north Monday along a 165-mile stretch of the Sierra Nevada, prompting air quality warnings and choking Yosemite National Park, Lake Tahoe and even parts of western Nevada in an acrid haze.
Winds rushing off the Pacific Coast largely acted as a buffer against the haze moving too far west, although Bay Area residents with respiratory issues could be affected.
"The Sierra is pretty smoked in and pretty hazy," said Cory Mueller, a National Weather Service meteorologist. "And unfortunately, that's probably going to continue as that fire continues to give off smoke."
Smoke from the #OakFire may impact portions of interior #NorCal today. Hear is a look at the model near surface smoke forecast across the area. For official air quality information, please visit https://t.co/LRRlZa88wM #CAwx pic.twitter.com/GBMtnvolAp
— NWS Sacramento (@NWSSacramento) July 25, 2022
The smoke left Yosemite Valley and its iconic granite cliffs shrouded in a thick haze on Monday morning, webcams from the Yosemite Conservancy showed. Half Dome was barely visible from parts of the valley floor.
The thickest patches of smoke extended from Groveland along Highway 120 north through Twain Harte and on to the tourist town of Arnold and Calaveras Big Trees State Park along Highway 4, according to the federal government's Air Now website. Generally unhealthy air readings extended from just southeast of Mariposa all the way north to Plumas County.
Smoke levels also posed problems for people with longstanding respiratory issues in Mammoth Lakes and western Nevada, including in Carson City and Reno.
Southernly winds are expected to continue to send smoke from the fire drifting north over the next several days, though there could be moments of respite on Tuesday afternoon, Mueller said.
Off-shore air flows should help keep the smoke aloft closer to the Bay Area — meaning most of it should stay at around 5,000 to 10,000 feet in the air in the coming days, said Aaron Richardson, a Bay Area Air Quality Management District spokesman.
But nevertheless, some of it may drift closer to the ground, which prompted the district to issue an air quality advisory through Wednesday for people with respiratory issues.
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Source: https://www.mercurynews.com/2022/07/25/smoke-from-oak-fire-prompts-bay-area-air-quality-advisory-chokes-sierra-nevada
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