Why is the sun red? Smoke from SoCal fires is affecting your air. Here's who is impacted
Some Southern Californians are being advised to reduce their time spent outdoors on Monday due to wildfires in Southern California.
The Line Fire in San Bernardino County, which has burned over 20,000 acres since its start on Sept. 5, has impacted the air quality in several counties and especially dramatically in the areas closest to the fire.
The fire was 3% contained as of Monday morning, according to Cal Fire, and smoke from the fire also impacted the sun’s appearance.
Here’s what to know about the air quality in Southern California.
Why is the sun red today?
Some Californians may have noticed the sun had a red or orange tint on Monday.
It’s likely due to the wildfires burning in California — particularly the Line Fire, Dave Munyan, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service San Diego, confirmed with The Desert Sun.
Smoke particles scatter sunlight more, lending to the appearance of longer wavelengths of light, which appear red, the Indianapolis Star reported.
Smoke advisory due to Line, Roblar Fires
The South Coast Air Quality Management District issued a smoke advisory through Monday night due to the Line and Roblar Fires in Southern California. The Roblar Fire in San Diego County has burned 950 acres, according to Cal Fire.
Areas potentially affected by the smoke extend as far north of Los Angeles as Santa Clarita to southeast in the Coachella Valley and include cities in the Inland Empire, Orange and Los Angeles counties.
Smoke from these fires is expected to cause the air quality index to reach the category of unhealthy for sensitive groups for San Bernardino, Riverside, Orange and Los Angeles counties on Monday, according to the South Coast AQMD. Many areas will reach the very unhealthy or hazardous categories.
The air quality index is divided into six categories. Each category has a description that corresponds with its level of concern, according to AirNow.
Unhealthy for sensitive groups, third in the AQI, means “members of sensitive groups may experience health effects” due to the air quality. The next category is unhealthy, which means “some members of the general public may experience health effects,” while members of sensitive groups “may experience more serious health effects.”
The next category is very unhealthy, in which everyone faces a risk of health effects. The highest category is hazardous, where everyone is more likely to be affected by the air quality.
The highest smoke impacts will be areas close to the fires and a large inland area between Pomona, the San Bernardino Mountains, Banning and Murrieta, said South Coast AQMD.
Why is the air quality bad today?
One source of a major air pollutant known as particulate matter is fire, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
Particulate matter includes PM2.5, or “fine inhalable particles” generally “2.5 micrometers and smaller,” which “pose the greatest risk to health,” said the EPA.
These are just some cities in Southern California that AirNow is reporting as unhealthy, very unhealthy or hazardous air quality due to PM2.5 as of Monday morning:
Highland
Redlands
San Bernadino
Riverside
Fontana
Jurupa Valley
Chino
Claremont
West Covina
La Habra
Los Angeles
AirNow recommends people do the following in these AQI categories:
Unhealthy: Everyone should take precautions by reducing outdoor activity.
Very unhealthy: Everyone should limit or avoid outdoor physical activity.
Hazardous: Everyone should stay indoors.
What is the air quality near me?
People can check the air quality index of their area at airnow.gov.
Paris Barraza is a trending reporter covering California news at The Desert Sun. Reach her at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @ParisBarraza.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Line Fire causes poor air quality, a red sun for Southern California
