Sunrise in San Francisco and Oakland was muted this morning as smoke from wildfires in northern Bay Area counties filled the skies.
Brush fires in Napa, Sonoma, Lake and Mendocino counties have destroyed dozens of homes and forced widespread evacuations. Hot, dry offshore winds are making matters worse; gusts as high as 50 miles per hour are spreading embers and making it difficult to keep blazes contained.
North bay fires bringing the smell of smoke in SF. Call 911 for true emergencies - if you smell smoke only call 911 if you see flame.
— San Francisco DEM (@SF_emergency) October 9, 2017
Residents in several San Francisco neighborhoods went to bed smelling smoke last night; at 1:20am, resident Nicole Cifiani reported on Twitter that her building was evacuated “because we can smell the #napafire from here and someone pulled the alarm.” By this morning, multiple tipsters contacted Hoodline to report ash on their cars and windowsills.
The San Francisco Department of Emergency Management issued an alert warning of poor air quality and advised residents to close doors and windows, limit their outdoor activity and bring pets indoors.
#GOES16 satellite update: around 3 am Monday morning. Satellite continues to show multiple wild fires across the North Bay, and a new fire start has been detected just to the east of Cloverdale. Strong and gusty northeast winds will continue through at least mid morning. #cawx pic.twitter.com/jufkkU38wZ
— NWS Bay Area (@NWSBayArea) October 9, 2017
People with heart disease, asthma or other respiratory conditions are at the greatest risk from wildfire smoke, particularly older adults and children.
Simply The Basics, an organization that provides hygiene kits to low-income people in need is accepting donations for people affected by North Bay fires, as is the American Red Cross.
