LAKE COUNTY ? Poor air quality because of wildfires throughout the state is bad for everyone, not just those with medical conditions that make them especially susceptible to smoky conditions, according to Sutter Lakeside Hospital Medical Director Diane Pege.
“It”s not healthy to be breathing this air in general,” Pege said.
Smoky conditions can be expected to stay the same until wildfires in and around Lake County are extinguished, according to Lake County Air Pollution Control Officer Bob Reynolds.
Reynolds said while his office is still waiting on the numbers of particulate matter and ozone in Lake County”s air as smoke rolled into the air basin Thursday, he said air quality is better than it was on Monday and Tuesday. Lake County”s air basin missed state health standards by 155 to 223 percent in the beginning of the week, according to a Monday press release from his office and the county Health Department.
“We appear to have fresher smoke, and it hasn”t been able to cook in the sunlight. We have more haze, but it hasn”t had a chance to produce secondary aerosols,” Reynolds said Thursday morning.
Secondary aerosols are produced when sunlight reacts chemically with the smoke in the air. The secondary particles multiply and become larger as they draw moisture out of the air, reducing visibility, according to Reynolds. He said visibility is two-thirds better than is was earlier in the week.
Reynolds said the two things his office is concerned with in this case for air health quality are the amount of particulate material and ozone in the county”s air. He added that the region had low ozone levels Thursday morning.
According to the Mendocino County Air Quality Management District Web site, www.co.mendocino.ca.us, a neighboring county”s air quality ranged from “unhealthy” to “very unhealthy.”
“There are some people who are not going to be bothered by this and others who are. Because conditions are so bad, if you are outside doing vigorous activity, it could increase the risk that it will bother you. It would be like a low-level smoke inhalation,” Pege said.
Pege recommended that everyone, regardless of age or medical condition, stay indoors as much as possible and avoid vigorous exercise.
“If you have any symptoms like cough or difficulty breathing, seek medical care sooner rather than later. Children and the elderly should be particularly careful. Avoid vigorous activity until the air quality clears,” Pege said.
People who have asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or heart disease should stay indoors with windows closed, unless absolutely necessary, according to Dr. John Hodgkin, medical director of the pulmonary rehabilitation program at Redbud Community Hospital. In addition, Hodgkin said approximately one out of every five people has supersensitive airways. Many, he said, are unaware of the condition.
Regardless of health conditions, anyone experiencing a cough, shortness of breath, wheezing or chest tightness should visit a doctor and stay indoors as much as possible, according to Hodgkin.
Please see related fire story on page A-20 for an update on California wildfires.
Contact Tiffany Revelle at trevelle@record-bee.com
