Sarah Rees is the Deputy Executive Officer for Planning and Rules at South Coast AQMD. She said smoke from wildfires in Northern and Central California is affecting air quality in the region, adding, “Most of that smoke is hanging out high in the atmosphere, so not at the level in which we’re breathing it. But in parts of our areas, it is coming down to the surface where people are being affected, and it’s impacting air quality.”
Rees added that the parts of the region primarily being affected were the City of San Bernardino, the San Bernardino Mountains, the eastern parts of San Bernardino County, and the San Gabriel Mountains. Per their Air Quality Index, air for those areas is listed as Unhealthy or Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups.
To stay protected, the agency advises residents to keep indoor air clean by using an air purifier and keeping all windows and doors closed.
