The air quality index for central Contra Costa County is currently at 136, which is unhealthy for sensitive groups, according to AirNow.gov.
As we previously reported, Contra Costa County health department officials are urging residents to stay indoors and limit outdoor activity to avoid exposure to poor air conditions caused by wildfires throughout the region.
To check the air quality index where you live, please visit AirNow.gov.
I’d like to make a citizen’s complaint against PG&E please, I’ll settle out of court for a million.
Me to. Where can I sign up?
One guy posted on nextdoor on all seriousness, that he can’t believe concord hasn’t called for evacuations due to the smoke! You don’t need to work in dispatch to see the true level of functioning out there.
Yesterday, the air was in the green, because the wind was keeping the smoke from lingering in our area. There was a smell of smoke in the air, but the air quality was still reasonably good.
Today there is essentially no wind in our location, so all the smoke from the fires isn’t being flushed out. If we are lucky, tomorrow the wind will pick up again and clear things out a little.
@ Mike
At my house in the Hidden Lakes area of Martinez there was zero smokey smell yesterday. I even spent the majority of the day outside after we finished evacuating the ranch (due to the Crockett fire) that my g/f keeps her horse at. Just because it was nasty where you live, it doesn’t mean that every part of the area was like that. I could clearly see all of the smoke hanging over Concord from my place.
I actually read that many of the said quality sensors were damaged in the wind. That’s why the readings were inaccurate.
@Natalie
Sorry but that makes absolutely zero sense Natalie, as a test go stand on your roof the next time you’re having a fire in your fire place. Then place your face over your chimney and try breathing, the draft of the fireplace is pushing smoke just like the wind was pushing smoke from the fires were yesterday.
The air was worse than I have ever experienced in my 55 years of living in the claycord area by quite a bit. I drove over the hill into Gunpoint and the air quality was better over there. The smoke was hovering over Concord like the clouds hover over the Adam’s families house, duh,duh,duh,duhnt click, click. A little pre Halloween humor, sorry I could help myself.
@Mike2 Which made the air quality in Concord hazardous yesterday, pretty much what Mike was getting too.
@Duck Natalie is saying in her area. Maybe you are effected differently. In West Clayton very near Mt. Diablo, there has been no hint of the smell of smoke in the air the past two days until about 5:00 PM last night (Monday). This even with all the warnings about staying out of it, Spare the Air, etc.. Last night (Monday) about 5:00PM, it was noticeable and reported elsewhere to be smoke from the Grizzly Island fire. It has a peculiar smell quite different from the Tubbs or Paradise fires of years past. At the same time in the area, no smoke was visible at ground level although some could be seen aloft. It is quite possible that the proximity of the terrain, its hills and mountains, greatly effect who is getting the smokiest conditions.
One of the air quality reporting websites said that their sensors weren’t working properly yesterday. I have heard that PurpleAir is the most accurate air quality reporting website because hey have the most sensors. I hope that no one really thought the air was ok yesterday due to the inaccurate reporting of one website! If you can smell, see and taste it in the air then it is toxic!
Oct. 26: “Air quality officials said the winds may push the smoke away from the Bay Area, improving the air quality even as they raise the threat of wildfires.”
https://www.sfchronicle.com/california-wildfires/article/Smoke-over-Bay-Area-from-Kincade-Fire-expected-to-14564565.php
Oct 26 updated Oct 27: “winds predicted to carry smoky air out of regions not affected by wildfire” https://www.mercurynews.com/2019/10/26/bay-area-air-quality-is-getting-worse-as-kincade-fire-smoke-blows-south/
We had good air on Sunday because the wind was in our favor, and keeping the smoke from lingering over Concord. Both airnow and the baaqmd webside showed the air quality was green on Sunday. The airnow map wasn’t working correctly, but the hourly updates were working correctly as stated by airnow. Their sensors weren’t down. On Sunday the air was within the healthy range.
The Spare The Air twitter account didn’t announce an air alert for the Sunday. And the Air District account also didn’t.
Purple Air had some sensors out over the weekend, but PA is a separate entity, and even they didn’t have a total outage in our area.
I stand by my statement. Sunday the air was good. Yesterday the air was bad. The wind was the reason. Later today and tomorrow the wind should pick up again, according to forecasts and hopefully that will flush out some of the smoke.