Overview
- Multiple active fires — including the Sandy, Bain, Verona and Santa Rosa Island blazes — have sent smoke and ash across communities, with the outbreaks that began Tuesday persisting into Wednesday.
- The South Coast Air Quality Management District has issued smoke advisories through 10 p.m. Thursday for Los Angeles, Ventura, Riverside and San Bernardino counties.
- Officials urge vulnerable people and the public to stay indoors with windows and doors closed, avoid strenuous outdoor exercise, and stop using devices that pull smoky air inside such as whole-house fans or swamp coolers.
- Forecasters say onshore smoke currently over the ocean is expected to move inland and weak winds will limit dispersion, and heat plus bright sunlight can raise ground-level ozone and further worsen health risks.
- Local authorities have issued evacuations and warnings near some fires, health officials warn that people with heart or lung disease, the elderly, pregnant people and young children are most at risk, and residents should track neighborhood air quality using South Coast AQMD, PurpleAir, Clarity or IQAir.