A regional air quality alert was released in a large part of southern California as harmful levels of accurate particles spread throughout the region after the fourth fireworks of July and active forest fires in the nearby mountainous areas.
South Coast AQMD announced on Friday, July 4, warning that high pollution levels will continue until Saturday night, July 5, due to smoke from Independence Day celebrations and forest fires in parts of Los Angeles Province and outside.
The alert was applied to most of the Los Angeles provinces, Orange provinces, the internal empire, Santa Clareta, the Saint Gabriel and San Bernardino Mountains. Officials said pollution levels can vary depending on time and location depending on local emissions and conditions.
Smoke was expected to affect fireworks on the area from 5:00 pm on Friday until 11:59 pm on Saturday. Washing smoke in mountainous areas was expected to affect air quality from midnight Friday until 10:00 pm on Saturday.
Health officials have warned that accurate particles pollution can penetrate the depth of the lungs and may lead to serious health problems, including asthma, bronchitis, heart attacks and difficulty breathing. While anyone can be affected, sensitive groups are at a higher risk.
The residents have been urged to monitor the air quality index (AQI) and seize their activities accordingly:
- When AQI reaches the “unhealthy level of sensitive groups” (orange), weakened individuals should limit prolonged or hard external activity.
- At the “non -healthy” level, everyone may be exposed to health effects, and sensitive groups should avoid time -ranging time.
- When the levels are “very unhealthy” (purple), sensitive groups should avoid all external activity, and others should limit outdoors exposure.
- At the level of “dangerous” (maroon), all individuals are advised to stay inside and avoid outdoor physical activity completely.
To reduce internal exposure, officials recommended the closure of windows and doors, using air conditioners or air purifiers, and avoiding the use of stoves, candles, incense or gasoline equipment. If possible, the population should avoid using swamp coolers or entire home fans that attract the external air.
Residents in the Los Angeles Basin, the San Bernardino Valley, San Gabriel, San Bernardino, Orange County, and Riferside Province can check the actual air quality levels and their expectations by visiting the AQMD site www.aqmd.gov Or by downloading the mobile phone application on www.aqmd.gov/mobileap.
For those in the Daba Valley, updates are available in www.avaqmd.ca.gov. In the Mojave Desert, current conditions and consultations can be found in www.mdaqmd.ca.gov.