Southwest County's air quality: unhealthy

By: BRIAN ECKHOUSE - Staff Writer
Regional and state officials advise staying inside | Thursday, October 25, 2007 6:37 AM PDT ∞

Flames from the Poomacha fire off Palomar Mountain were miles from Temecula, but wind-swept smoke and ash from that blaze blanketed the southern part of the city Wednesday, prompting some to wear masks -- and most to remain indoors.

The smoke-filled air pushed north Wednesday afternoon, as tiny specks of ash fell to the ground like dandruff.

The lone air monitoring station in Southwest Riverside County -- 20 miles north in Lake Elsinore -- found the level of dangerous particulate matter to be good to moderate, though officials with the South Coast Air Quality Management District said they have deemed the air unhealthy since the region's fires began Sunday.

"The danger from smoke is fine particulates -- the smaller ones that you can't see," said Tina Cherry, a spokeswoman for the air quality district. "They can lodge deep into your lungs and can exacerbate conditions people may already have. And they can be an irritant to people who may ordinarily be healthy."

Once the fires pass, the dangers of smoke inhalation probably will remain for a few days because of the swirling Santa Ana winds earlier this week, said Mary Nichols, the chairwoman of the California Air Resources Board.

In San Diego County -- which borders Temecula to the south -- the unpredictable Santa Ana winds have mixed with offshore fronts, spreading smoke and ashes throughout the region, Nichols said.

"It's something everybody should be paying attention to," she said.

No one is immune from the dryness and smoke, said Ross Porter, a spokesman for the American Lung Association of California in San Diego.

"My lips are chapped," Porter said Tuesday. "My eyes are irritated, and for some people it feels like altitude sickness.

That was especially true because of the air conditions Wednesday in southern Temecula.

A thick beige smoke filled a cloudless sky above Great Oak High midday Wednesday, obscuring the sun in some spots, though it was not as opaque as a pea soup fog.

School remained open at Great Oak, though dozens of parents picked up their children throughout the day. The Temecula and Murrieta Valley unified school districts opted to close schools today.

That undoubtedly pleased a host of adolescents who had complained their health was endangered being in southern Temecula -- even with all school activities being held indoors.

"Tell them to shut down our school," said 16-year-old junior Chris Depackh, whose father is a Los Angeles firefighter. "It's hard to breathe and there is ash falling."

Junior Brandon Hernandez, 16, left school early Wednesday.

"A lot of people are complaining that they can't breathe and a bunch of kids are wearing masks," he said.

Temecula's three high schools still plan on holding football games Friday, but that's pending air conditions later today or first thing Friday morning, district officials said. All three were considering alternatives, including hosting the games Saturday. Calvary Murrieta, which scheduled its football game Friday at Vista Murrieta High, is contemplating alternative sites to hold the game, an official said.

At Pechanga Resort & Casino, a few hundred feet from Great Oak, workers wore masks while driving golf carts.

Temecula resident Olivia Chapa -- who squinted from the ash even though she was wearing sunglasses -- left her home for the casino to escape the horrors of the infernos as seen on television. Ironically, though, she came far closer to the dangerous elements by leaving her home -- and traveling closer to the Rosa fire and heavy smoke.

"I needed to get away from the TV," said Chapa, 63. "I'm going to go in and gamble and forget about it for an hour."

Cherry said she was unaware if there are long-term repercussions from short-term exposure to the dangerous air, "but we are recommending people being out of the smoke."

State and regional leaders advised residents to:

avoid all vigorous exercise, indoors or out;

remain indoors if they have heart disease or respiratory diseases, including asthma;

keep windows and doors closed; and

turn on the air conditioner but close the fresh air intake to minimize outdoor smoke indoors.

Those suffering from respiratory illness might be better off relocating temporarily, said Mark Horton, the director of the state Department of Health.

For more information on air quality issues, visit www.aqmd.gov/pubinfo/factsheets.htm.

Staff writer Tom Sheridan contributed to this article. Contact staff writer Brian Eckhouse at (951) 676-4315, Ext. 2626, or beckhouse@californian.com. Comment at www.californian.com.

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