Smoke Expected To Stick Around

Sonora, CA — Despite the cooling temperatures this week, expect the smoke to continue to linger across the Mother Lode.

While there are 23 active wildfires burning across California, the heavy smoke in Tuolumne County over recent days has primarily been due to the nearly 10,000 acre Railroad Fire in the Sierra National Forest and the 3,700 acre Summit Complex Fire in the Stanislaus National Forest near the Dardanelles.

That’s according to Gary Stockel of the Tuolumne County Air Pollution Control District, who spoke at today’s Board of Supervisors meeting. He stated, “Although we have improving weather conditions this week, with lower temperatures expected and higher relative humidity, we are expected to have continued air impacts, especially since we have southwesterly winds, which will continue to bring in a lot of smoke from the Railroad Fire.”

Air quality is currently in the “moderate to unhealthy range” for sensitive groups, which includes young children and the elderly, and individuals with lung or heart problems.