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The longest string of Spare the Air alerts ever issued by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District because of wildfire smoke in the region will continue through at least Thursday, Sept. 3, according to the air district.
The alerts, which ban the burning of wood and other solid fuel both indoors and outdoors, have come after lightning strikes in mid-August sparked wildfires around the Bay Area and elsewhere in Northern California.
The SCU Lightning Complex fires in the East Bay and South Bay and the LNU Lightning Complex fires in the North Bay are the second- and third-largest fires in state history in terms of acres burned. The CZU Lightning Complex fires in San Mateo and Santa Cruz counties is the third-largest active Cal Fire incident as of Tuesday afternoon.
Smoke from the fires is continuing to cause elevated levels of pollution that can cause health issues, particularly to those with pre-existing issues like asthma or emphysema. There has been an alert every day since Aug. 14.
The air district recommends that people stay inside with windows and doors closed until the smoke levels go down, and to set air conditioning and car vent systems to re-circulate to stop outside air from coming inside.
People can find out when a Spare the Air alert is in effect by visiting sparetheair.org, calling 800-HELP-AIR (4357-247), downloading the Spare the Air smartphone app for iPhone or Android devices or connecting with Spare the Air on Facebook, Twitter or YouTube.
It would be helpful if the Almanac were to include local implications for Spare The Air alerts. For example, Menlo Park’s municipal code prohibits the use of gas powered leaf blowers on spare the air days. Unfortunately, most residents and gardening services are unaware of this restriction and thus do not curtail their use. There may be similar ordinances in other local jurisdictions.
Heyward makes a great point. On my walk to downtown Menlo Park this morning, there wasn’t a moment that I couldn’t hear the roaring of a gas-powered leaf blower (or “dirt blower”, as my wife likes to call them).
After all the days of smoke in the air, the last thing we need to be breathing right now is leaf blower exhaust, let alone all the dirt and dust they put into the air.
Please tell your gardeners that the only gas leaf blowers that can ever be used in Menlo Park are ANSI-certified, low-noise leaf blowers, and that even those can’t be used on Spare the Air days. It might be time for some enforcement of this much-ignored ordinance.
See https://www.codepublishing.com/CA/MenloPark/#!/MenloPark08/MenloPark0807.html#8.07