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A street closure on Valencia that allows restaurants to host crowds outside in San Francisco’s Mission District was canceled Thursday night due to unhealthy air. Jean Elle reports.
A Spare the Air alert will be in effect through at least Friday in the Bay Area as thick smoke from wildfires continues to envelop the region, according to the Bay Area Air Quality Management District.
Friday will mark 25 straight days in which the air district has issued the alerts, which ban the burning of wood and other solid fuels both indoors and outdoors, following lightning strikes that sparked wildfires around Northern California in mid-August.
"Today, specifically, we're expecting air quality to be even worse than yesterday," Walter Wallace with the air quality district said Thursday.
Brian Tang
Orange sky over San Pablo. (Sept. 9, 2020)
Chris Wendle
Yellowish sky in San Francisco. (Sept. 9, 2020)
Stephen Lerch
Orange sky over El Cerrito. (Sept. 9, 2020)
Alexander Nguyen
Orange sky over San Francisco. (Sept. 9, 2020)
Alexander Nguyen
Orange sky above San Francisco. (Sept. 9, 2020)
David McGinn
Orange sky over San Francisco. (Sept. 9, 2020)
Casey Kasten
Orange sky over San Francisco. (Sept. 9, 2020)
Jonathan Bloom/NBC Bay Area
An orange sky over San Francisco. (Sept. 9, 2020)
NBC Bay Area
An orange sky above San Francisco. (Sept. 9, 2020)
NBC Bay Area
An orange sky above the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge. (Sept. 9, 2020)
Terry McSweeney/NBC Bay Area
An orange sky over Sausalito. (Sept. 9, 2020)
Bigad Shaban/NBC Bay Area
Orange sky over San Francisco. (Sept. 9, 2020)
Nick White Photography
The sky has turned a yellowish color in Sausalito as fires continue to rage across California. (Sep. 9, 2020)
NBC Bay Area
A yellowish haze in the Bay Area. (Sept. 7, 2020)
NBC Bay Area
A yellowish haze in the Bay Area. (Sept. 8, 2020)
NBC Bay Area
A yellowish haze in the Bay Area. (Sept. 8, 2020)
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A yellowish haze in the Bay Area. (Sept. 8, 2020)
NBC Bay Area
A yellowish haze in the Bay Area. (Sept. 8, 2020)
NBC Bay Area
A yellowish haze in the Bay Area. (Sept. 8, 2020)
Scott Budman/NBC Bay Area
A reddish sun as seen from the Bay Area. (Sept. 8, 2020)
Meghan Quan
A reddish sun as seen from San Rafael. (Sept. 8, 2020)
NBC Bay Area
Smoky haze in the Bay Area. (Sept. 8, 2020)
The air quality became even more of a topic of conversation in the Bay Area Wednesday morning as thick smoke from the fires scattered blue light from the sun, allowing only yellow-orange-red light to reach the surface and creating the dark, orange sky during daytime.
Most of the smoke is aloft, but may come down to the ground level as weather conditions change, so the air district is encouraging people to stay indoors when they smell smoke. People should also keep their air systems on recirculate mode.
