UCLA students seeking a breath of fresh air outside of their
dorm rooms and apartments might want to look elsewhere today.
Raging Southern California wildfires have pushed a dense haze
over the Los Angeles area, reducing both air quality and
visibility.
The largest of the fires, named The Grand Prix, has ravaged the
San Bernardino area, driving residents from their homes and
resulting in several deaths. The fire is nearly a quarter
contained, although advisories by the San Bernardino National
Forest expect it to be completely contained by noon on
Thursday.
Very low humidity, along with the Santa Ana winds, have combined
to move smoke over 30 miles from the nearest fire to the Los
Angeles vicinity.
The National Weather Service has issued a red flag warning
through this afternoon for the Santa Ana winds and for low
humidity. The winds are predicted to slowly subside into the
afternoon.
Although it’s not at risk of direct fire damage, the UCLA
campus is being hit especially hard by the drifting smoke, said
atmospheric sciences Professor Jeffrey Lew.
“Smoke’s coming pretty close to the ground,”
said Lew.
He added that the primary concern with smoke is the inhalation
of particulate matter and all unnecessary outdoor activity should
be avoided.
Additionally, the South Coast Air Quality Management District
declared most of the regions directly affected by the fire,
including areas of the San Bernardino Valley, Riverside and Pomona,
had “unhealthy” air quality status as of Sunday.
According to the AQMD, this means people should discontinue
prolonged, vigorous outdoor exercise lasting more than an hour. The
AQMD Web site listed basketball, running, soccer, football and
swimming laps as some activities that should be minimized.
The site said people with heart or lung disease should avoid the
outdoors entirely.
On Sunday, the air quality index in L.A. reached levels that
would be unhealthy for sensitive groups?, according to the AQMD and
the UCLA Department of Atmospheric Sciences. But some students
found it difficult to avoid going outdoors.
Clutching a tissue over his mouth and nose, UCLA student Michael
Kek found the smoke in the air to further compound what he called
his already-sensitive allergies.
“My eyes are watering, and (the smoke) feels like
it’s harmful to my health,” Kek said.
For some students, the haze was not a significant health
concern, but merely an acrid nuisance.
UCLA alumnus Steve Lobbin still made his way to the intramural
field to play soccer, considering the smoke no risk to his
health.
“The smoke psychosomatically affects performance … but,
no, I’m not afraid of any long-term health effects,”
Lobbin said.
With reports from Robert Salonga, Bruin Senior
Staff.