Northern California Wildfires Could Impact Bay Area Air Quality

Smoke from the big fires burning in Northern California, and especially the plume emitted from a huge blaze burning along the Klamath River east of Yreka, has been creating serious air quality problems for communities in that region for weeks. Now air quality regulators are warning the smoke could have an impact in the Bay Area, too.

The Bay Area Air Quality Management District said Tuesday that smoke from the fires, including the 72,000-acre Happy Camp Complex blaze, could affect residents in Sonoma and Napa counties. At midday Wednesday, though, the district reported that air quality throughout the Bay Area was good.

Residents of far Northern California, and especially those in Siskiyou, Trinity and Shasta counties, have been contending with poor air quality since the end of July. That's when the first of a series of lightning-sparked fires began spreading through heavily forested mountains in the region. Those fires have burned more than 150,000 acres so far.

As the biggest of those blazes, the Happy Camp Complex, continues to grow, air quality in one nearby community, the Klamath River hamlet of Seiad Valley, is rated as "very unhealthy" under the EPA's Air Quality Index. That rating means air so bad that everyone will experience some serious ill effects. Air in the town of Happy Camp, also on the Klamath, is slightly better, rated as "unhealthy." The persistent smoke has prompted the Karuk tribe to turn its senior nutrition facility in Happy Camp into a "clean air respite center."

Federal fire managers said Wednesday that the Happy Camp Complex blaze is expected to continue to spread Wednesday due to extremely low humidity and increasing winds. The National Weather Service has posted a red-flag warning for most of the Northern California mountains through tonight.

Although Highway 96, the main route through the fire zone, remains open with traffic escorts, the Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office has ordered mandatory evacuations in several areas near the fire. The sheriff's office said earlier this week that the evacuation orders covered 250 residences and that another 695 are threatened. Many of the 2,700 firefighters working on the fire have been assigned to protect structures.

Here's Tuesday's writeup on the Happy Camp Complex via the AP:

By Associated Press

HAPPY CAMP, Siskiyou County — A Northern California wildfire sparked by lightning has now burned 100 square miles of dry brush and timber in the Klamath National Forest near Happy Camp.

Crews battling the blaze threatening hundreds of homes are warning residents that it could burn right up to their homes.

The weather forecast calls for low humidity and gusty winds Tuesday through Wednesday evening around the blaze in the Klamath National Forest. Combined with unstable air, fire information officer Paul Gibbs says, a smoke column could push embers as far as 2 miles, jumping containment lines and starting spot fires near some of the threatened homes.

About 250 homes were under mandatory evacuation orders, with another 695 considered threatened.

Crews were removing vegetation around homes and putting in contingency containment lines using bulldozers in anticipation of increased fire activity.

The U.S. Forest Service says crews are working to keep flames away from homes in the communities of Seiad Valley and Hamburg. No structures yet have burned.

The fire that began Aug. 11 is 15 percent contained. It is among a number of lightning-sparked blazes that began in the area in mid-August. The others are either fully contained or nearing full containment.

The fire is burning along Highway 96, which remained open with traffic control measures in place. Happy Camp is located in Siskiyou County just south of the Oregon border.

According to the latest reports on the interagency site InciWeb:

"Because of the strong winds and dry conditions, the fire is expected to reach the communities of Hamburg and Scott Bar. Residents remaining in these areas, which are currently under mandatory or advisory evacuation, are encouraged to leave. Firefighters and emergency vehicles will need clear access to homes. Residents who attempt to leave as the fire approaches might compromise emergency efforts and endanger civilians and firefighters."

Date Started: August 11, 2014

Size: 66,335 acres total for the complex

Containment: 15 percent for the complex

Estimated Containment Date: Sept. 20, 2014

Estimated Cost to Date: $36 million

Total Personnel: 2,737

Committed Resources: 59 crews, 11 helicopters, 133 engines, 22 dozers, 28 water tenders.