Smoke from Southern California fires moves into Lake County air basin
- Elizabeth Larson
- Posted On
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Thick smoke from the fires raging across Southern California moved into Lake County’s air basin on Monday.
Lake County Air Pollution Control Officer Doug Gearhart confirmed to Lake County News on Monday that what looked like clouds moving in over Lake County actually was smoke from the Southern California fires.
As of Monday, those fires – the Thomas, Lilac, Creek, Rye and Skirball – had burned nearly 257,000 acres and destroyed more than 1,000 structures, with according to Cal Fire.
The largest of the fires, the Thomas, located in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties, has burned 230,500 acres and is 15-percent contained, Cal Fire said.
Cal Fire said the Thomas fire continues to threaten 18,000 homes. About 95,000 residents reported to be under evacuation on Monday morning, with some evacuation orders lifted in the early afternoon.
Air quality conditions in Lake County could become unhealthy if the arriving smoke drops to the ground, Gearhart said.
NASA satellite imagery on Monday showed the smoke from the wildland fires moving out over the Pacific Ocean before circling back to the north and then the east as it approached the northern portion of the state.
Gearhart said no burn days are in effect for another week due to the fire activity in Southern California and the dry conditions here in Lake County.
He said Cal Fire and the local fire chiefs requested no burn days for fire hazard and lack of resources through Dec. 18 and possibly longer.
However, he added that no burn days would have been in effect anyway due to the current air pattern, which has no air movement or dispersion of pollutants. He said that’s likely to be the case for a few more days.
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