You’ll see smokey skies and hot weather again, high temperatures around 107 in Paso Robles. 104 in Atascadero.
The smoke in the north county air is primarily from the River fire, which continues to burn out of control in northern Monterey county. The fire is burning south of Salinas. So far, it’s burned 15,050 acres and it remains only 7% contained. That fire may reach 100,000 acres in a few days. Nearby, the Carmel fire has burned over two thousand acres, it is 0% contained.
A Cal Fire spokesman says the strong winds and high temperatures are exacerbating conditions for wildfires.
The air quality is said to be unhealthy for some people. The Air Pollution Control District issued an alert for high concentrations of tiny particulate matter that can severely harm the lungs. That alert continues in the north county today. The APCD says you can expect smoky conditions until the fires are extinguished.
I talked with a battalion chief from Palo Alto who was sent to the fire near Monterey. He said he was advised that he will be fighting that River fire for the next two weeks.
