Sonoma County’s health officer issued an advisory Tuesday, urging residents to take steps to protect their health as surrounding wildfires impact local air quality.
The Sonoma Valley and Napa regions have been hardest hit by poor air quality, Department of Health Services spokeswoman Sheri Cardo said. County officials suspect the poor air quality is due to smoke. Colusa County Site Fire flowing into Sonoma County, Cardo added.
In some areas between Sonoma and Santa Rosa, the air quality index has risen above 160, according to PurpleAir’s air quality map. Further south and west, in cities like Rohnert Park and Petaluma, air quality indices remain satisfactory and below 50, according to the map.
Residents can also check smoke and air pollution levels in their neighborhood by visiting the EPA’s Fire and Smoke Map.
Sonoma County residents were advised to shelter in place, according to the health officer’s advisory. To prevent poor indoor air quality, the health official suggested closing doors and windows, keeping indoor air cool, and setting car and home air conditioning units to only recirculate air and not transmit air from outside.
The advisory instructed residents to limit prolonged exertion outdoors, especially older adults, pregnant people, children and people with heart or respiratory conditions.
It also advised residents to hydrate frequently and avoid activities that could exacerbate air pollution, such as burning wood, mowing lawns, blowing leaves, driving, barbecues and smoking.
The health official noted that some parts of Sonoma County are not as affected by poor air quality as others, but that air quality throughout the county can fluctuate based on local conditions that affect air change.
A local emergency also occurred. declared Monday in Sonoma County in response to the Point Fire that had burned nearly 1,200 acres northwest of Healdsburg. As of 6:40 a.m. Tuesday, the wildfire was 40% contained and remained at 1,207 acres, according to a Cal Fire post on social media. Cardo said officials suspect smoke from the Point Fire is not as much of a culprit in reducing air quality as the Site Fire in Colusa County.
As of 6:09 a.m., the site fire, southeast of Stonyford, was at 10,000 acres, according to a Cal Fire post on social media.
