Over the past several days, you may have noticed hazy skies and the smell of smoke. Wildfires are burning north of San Luis Obispo County, and the smoke is making its way down the coast.
Joelyn Lutz was in Pismo Beach on Sunday morning.
“Just this morning, I got up and I really noticed the ash," Lutz said. "I have to say, I play and perform out here regularly on the pier, and I capture the sunset. They've been beautiful and it's really sad. My friend told me last night that it's so beautiful and red because of the fires.”
Two large wildfires are burning in Monterey County.
The Timber Fire broke out August 8 near Big Sur and has surpassed 24 thousand acres. The Plaskett Fire has been active since August 26 and evacuation warnings have moved into the northernmost part of San Luis Obispo County.
A viewer sent KSBY photos of the Plaskett Fire as he flew by the wildfire on Saturday.
Maya Jaycox lives in San Luis Obispo and said she's noticed a change in the air.
“I've just been noticing that smell kind of coming in and feeling a little bit more tangible in the throat and everything like that," Jaycox said. "So we are, you know, feeling it at this point.”
Smoke from the fires is traveling down into the San Luis Obispo County area, causing the air quality levels to fall into the moderate range across the Central Coast. People who are unusually sensitive to poor air conditions are advised to limit time outside. Monterey Bay’s Air Resources District says fine particles that are in wildfire smoke can be especially harmful to people with heart and lung diseases, and people who are very young or very old.
Jaycox said she’s trying to limit her time exposed to the smoky conditions.
“I actually close the windows so that I'm not as affected by the air quality outside," she said. "So I usually try to minimize that and then we're out for a little bit. We'll probably go indoors pretty soon to kind of limit our exposure to the open air quality.”
The smoke is also traveling down to Santa Barbara County. Ahni Radvanyi said she’s always prepared for poor air quality during wildfire season.
“I'm also constantly living in fear about summer fire seasons and have like an N95 in my car glove box just in case needing it for like particles from who knows what fire are going to be potentially like breathing the vapors from," Radvanyi said.
She said the latest fires are a reminder to be prepared in case one sparks closer to home.
“Having a to-go box is so crucial to grab one thing when you get a knock on your door from the neighbor at three in the morning that says, 'hey, we got to go right now and you're not answering your phone.' So it is crucial to have a plan for emergencies," she said.
The latest air quality can be found here.
