Spare the Air alert issued through Wednesday
WALNUT CREEK, CA - AUGUST 22: Traffic on Highway 24 moves smoothly as motorist travel through a thick cloud of smoke in Walnut Creek, Calif., on Saturday, Aug. 22, 2020. With over 500 wild fires burning in California the Bay Area is inundated with un
SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA - The Bay Area Air Quality Management District extended an existing Spare the Air alert through Wednesday because of continuing wildfire smoke throughout the region sparked by lightning last weekend.
The air district had already extended an alert through this weekend because of elevated levels of particulate pollution caused by the wildfires.
The heaviest impacts are expected to hit the East Bay and the Santa Clara Valley, though smoke impacts are possible throughout the region.
On Spare the Air days, it is illegal for people to use fireplaces, wood stoves, pellet stoves, outdoor fire pits or other wood-burning devices.