News center

PRESS RELEASE

Contact: Tracie Douglas, 775-846-0066

For Immediate Release

Andy Goodrich, 775-784-7200

http://www.washoecounty.us/health

08-10

Westerly winds and California fires push Truckee Meadows into a Stage One air pollution alert

The winds from the West and the huge number of fires that are continue to ravage Northern California are still causing air pollution problems for the Truckee Meadows. The Air Quality Index (AQI) for particulate matter (PM 2.5) has once again slowly climbed into the Unhealthful range, requiring a Stage I Air Quality Alert. Air pollution levels throughout the last week have dropped into the high-moderate range for only a few days since the fires started, mostly remaining in the unhealthful range. “Any of the control strategies that we would use during winter air pollution alerts are useless during summer fire season,” stated Andy Goodrich, Division Director for the Air Quality Management Division (AQMD) of the Washoe District Health Department.

While the District Health Department realizes that is happening at the beginning of a holiday weekend, Goodrich has concerns for the population that is most at risk to air pollution, those being the very young, the very old and those with existing heart and lung ailments. “People who have existing conditions can have those exacerbated when the air quality is high for just one day,” he said. “This population, as well as healthy individuals has now been breathing fine particulate matter for over a week and we are concerned for their health.” According to Goodrich, temperature inversions usually occur everyday in the Truckee Meadows, even during summer months because we are located in a bowl surrounded by mountains. During the night, colder air drops to the valley floor and traps pollutants close to our breathing space until either the warmth of the sun allows the inversion to lift or winds scour out the valley.

The AQMD is stressing the need for everyone to stay indoors until the smoke moves out of the Truckee Meadows. Residents are strongly urged to refrain from outdoor activities including all sports practices, until the smoke clears. The AQMD will update information as pollution levels change. This information can be obtained by calling 775-785-4110. General information about air quality issues can be found on our web site by going to washoecounty.us/health. You can also reach the AQMD office by calling 784-7200.

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