Darleene Barrientos
As winds continue to whip the flames of wildfires raging in parts of
Southern California, smoke and ash have blown into the region,
causing an increase in respiratory and breathing problems.
But a change in the weather pattern over the area will lead to
cooler temperatures and possibly rain, a National Weather Service
meteorologist said.
High winds on Wednesday that continued to hamper firefighters'
efforts in battling fires in four Southern California counties also
have pushed smoke and particles of ash over Glendale, La Crescenta
and La Canada Flintridge.
"The smaller matter can get deep into the lungs," said Tina
Cherry, a spokeswoman with the South Coast Air Quality Management
District. "Things are getting picked up in the wind and they are
getting carried."
A low-pressure system developing over Nevada will push cooler,
higher-humidity air across the coastal plains and valleys and into
the mountains, said Bonnie Bartling, weather information specialist
with the National Weather Service.
"What is different is, last week we were setting records in many
places. Those same places will probably be in the 60s," Bartling
said.
In the meantime, local school officials wait for the L.A. County
Health Department and AQMD's recommendations about resuming outdoor
activities. Since health warnings were issued by the county this
week, the Glendale Unified School District has kept students hydrated
and indoors as much as possible, and canceled or rescheduled athletic
competitions unless they were held indoors in air-conditioned
facilities.
Doctors from Glendale Adventist Medical Center and Glendale
Memorial Hospital recommend that everyone, especially elderly people
and children, ease up on strenuous activities.
"It's only anecdotal, but I think we've been seeing more kids with
wheezing and adults with emphysema," said David Friendly, an
emergency room physician at Glendale Adventist.
The unhealthy air will affect those with heart problems as well as
those with respiratory problems, said Edmond Noll, an emergency room
physician at Glendale Memorial.
"Any new particulate matter in the area can have an effect [on a
person's health]," Noll said. "The farther away [we are] from the
smoke, the more [we have a] problem. We get smaller particles that we
can't see."
