Weather alert: Smoke from Sequoia wildfires will push into these California counties
The National Weather Service is projecting heavy smoke from fires in Sequoia National Park and Sequoia National Forest will continue to have serious effects in Fresno and many other central California counties through the weekend.
The high resolution smoke projection shows surface and higher-level smoke will linger across counties as far south as Kern and as far north as San Joaquin. The smoke also will affect coastal counties such as Monterey, San Luis Obispo and even Santa Clara County in the Bay Area.
The KNP Complex in the national park and Windy in the national forest are producing the smoke, and little relief from the poor air quality is immediately in sight, said Colin McKellar, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Hanford.
The Weather Service projection shows the smoke moving through the central part of the state starting Saturday morning and into Sunday evening.
Light winds in the San Joaquin Valley aren’t doing much to disperse the smoke, McKellar said. Instead, the smoke is settling here, and we likely won’t see relief until it rains. No rain is projected in the seven- or 10-day forecasts.
The smoke behavior from these fires likely will be similar to what we saw last year with the Creek Fire, McKellar said.
“I’m pretty certain the two fires we have in Tulare County are going to be burning until we get snow and rain,” he said. “They’re going to be there. And with the air, we’re just going to be dealing with the smoke until then, like last year with the Creek Fire.”
The heavy smoke settling low into the atmosphere means the air quality will be hazardous. The San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District on Saturday recommended residents in areas including Fresno, Tulare and Kings counties avoid outdoor activity due to high particulate matter pollution.
“Particulate matter can trigger asthma attacks, aggravate chronic bronchitis, and increase the risk of heart attack and stroke,” the air district cautioned in a release issued earlier this week but updated to extend the alert through 11 a.m. Monday.
“Individuals with heart or lung disease should follow their doctors’ advice for dealing with episodes of PM exposure. Those with existing respiratory conditions, including COVID-19, young children and the elderly, are especially susceptible to the health effects from this form of pollution.”
Those affected should move to a filtered, air-conditioned environment with the windows closed, the air district stated, while noting “common cloth and paper masks being used as protection from COVID-19 may not be sufficient protection from wildfire smoke inhalation.”
KNP, Windy fires still raging
By Saturday morning, the KNP Complex fire burned over 42,000 acres and spread from the national park into Sequoia National Forest. Over 1,700 firefighters are assigned to the fire, according to fire officials.
The Windy Fire had burned more than 71,000 acres near many giant sequoia groves, including the Giant Sequoia National Monument, in the national forest and Tule River Indian Reservation. Nearly 1,800 firefighters are working to contain that wildfire.
Several Tulare County communities have been evacuated due to the fire, with a temporary evacuation center established at Porterville College.
This story was originally published September 25, 2021 at 11:20 AM.