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SAN DIEGO — San Diego residents may soon be affected by smoke from the wildfires raging in Los Angeles County, according to local meteorologists and health experts. The fires, which have already consumed over 30,000 acres, are producing hazardous air quality conditions in Los Angeles and surrounding communities.
CBS 8 Meteorologist Evan Noorani and Tarik Benmarhnia, a climate change epidemiologist with Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego, both indicate that changing wind conditions could bring smoke to San Diego County.
“All the way through the early morning hours of Saturday, you can see how that opportunity to see some wind in our area start to pick up,” Noorani explained, referring to forecast data.
Benmarhnia concurred, stating, “The smoke may definitively reach San Diego, because the smoke can travel miles and miles away from where the fire is taking place, so that may become an issue in the next few days.”
While the air quality in San Diego was reported as “good” by AirNow, a government-run website tracking air quality, on Friday afternoon, experts warn that this could change rapidly.
The potential health impacts of the smoke depend on its concentration and an individual’s overall health. Benmarhnia explained, “For people that don’t have any specific health conditions, it may lead to some kind of irritation, to some kind of inflammation that could be uncomfortable, but in general, it should be relatively fine. But for people that have pre-existing conditions, cardiovascular conditions, or respiratory conditions like asthma, for example, or COPD, that can be very dangerous.”
The main health concern comes from tiny particles in the smoke known as PM2.5. If the smoke moves onshore and air quality deteriorates, health officials recommend several precautions:
The San Diego Air Pollution Control District is closely monitoring the situation and will issue a smoke advisory if air quality conditions worsen.
Residents are advised to stay informed about air quality conditions and follow health guidelines to protect themselves from potential smoke-related health risks.
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