Relief for Fresno’s awful air quality is in sight – but it’s days away and may involve rain
A storm front approaching the central San Joaquin Valley from the north Thursday may bring some relief from hazardous air pollution choking the region, the National Weather Service said Tuesday morning.
Poor air quality caused by wildfires in and near Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks continued to plague the Valley, prompting officials officials from The San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District to warn residents to minimize the amount time spent outside as much as possible.
An air quality alert, originally issued early Monday, was extended to 11 a.m. Thursday as smoke continued to pour into the Valley. The alert impacts the region ranging from Stockton to Bakersfield as the Windy Fire and the KNP Complex Fire continued to rage.
Most concerning for residents are high levels of fine particles of particulate matter less than 2.5 microns in width, which can cause serious health problems and aggravate lung disease.
Fresno weather forecast
Meteorologist Brian Ochs at the weather service station in Hanford said the new front could possibly bring .10 inches of rain to the region and snow to higher elevations by Thursday night or Friday morning. Cleaner air would accompany the precipitation.
Ochs said the moisture could reach from Yosemite National Park as far south as Bakersfield.
He added that lightning — which accompanied a weather front moving through Santa Barbara on Monday night and raised concern that it might spark new forest fires — is not likely to join the front approaching the Valley.
At the same time, Ochs cautioned that the moisture probably would not have much direct effect on bringing area wildfires under control.
Air district officials continued to urge residents to try and stay in filtered, air-conditioned environments with windows closed, and also warned that common cloth and paper masks used as a precaution against COVID-19 infections might not be sufficient against wildfire smoke. Those who needed to be outside would likely need N95-quality masks.