Smoke from California wildfires blankets Las Vegas — PHOTOS
Smoke from three major California wildfires drifted into the Las Vegas Valley, blanketing the region in a haze of unhealthy air Wednesday.
As the fires, which were burning in Southern California’s mountains east of Los Angeles, sent smoke to Southern Nevada, residents noticed they had seen ash falling from the sky while monitoring sites from Jean to Mesquite showed unhealthy air during most of the daylight hours, officials said.
By 6 p.m. Wednesday, the situation seemed to get better, however. Clark County monitoring stations showed improved air conditions with most stations west of Interstate 15 in the moderate range with a handful on the east side rated as unhealthy for sensitive groups. Green Valley and Boulder City remained in the unhealthy category.
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“Smoke will still hang over parts of southern Nevada though which will result in hazy skies at times tonight into Thursday morning,” the National Weather Service’s Las Vegas forecast office said in a forecast discussion posted online Wednesday night.
But a cold front approaching the valley overnight should push the air in a different direction, forecasters said.
“This will probably last all day, into the evening and tonight,” National Weather Service meteorologist Brian Planz said of the smoke on Wednesday. “A wind shift to the northwest tomorrow should improve things.”
Weather cameras were showing gray skies clearing as the evening started.
The three fires — the Bridge Fire, the Line Fire and the Airport fire — torched dozens of homes and forced thousands of people to evacuate, officials said.
At least a dozen people, mainly firefighters, were treated for injuries that were mostly heat-related, authorities said. One person from Orange County was burned. No deaths had been reported.
Tens of thousands of homes threatened
The wildfires have been endangering tens of thousands of homes and other structures across the region after they sprung to life during a triple-digit heat wave over the weekend. Other major fires were burning in Idaho and Oregon.
As well, the Davis Fire south of Reno had forced about 20,000 people to flee.
In the tight-knit community of Wrightwood that sits on the Pacific Crest Trail, authorities implored residents to evacuate the exploding Bridge Fire, which burned more than a dozen homes in the area.
Resident Erin Arias said she was racing up the mountain when she got the sudden order to leave and did, grabbing her passport and dog. On Wednesday, she and her husband doused water on the roof of their still-standing home. Their cat was missing, she said.
“It’s absolutely scary,” Arias said, looking at the burned embers of her neighbor’s home. “We’re really lucky.”
Local schools affected
The Clark County School District announced that all non-essential outdoor activities were canceled for Wednesday.
“Principals shall ensure all non-essential outdoor activities, including lunch, physical education classes, and recess, are moved indoors. Masks may be provided if available but are not required to be worn,” the district said in a release. “All outdoor conference athletics and activities are canceled for today and will be rescheduled. All attempts will be made to reschedule other canceled outdoor events.”
Smoke from multiple California wildfires is blanketing the Las Vegas Valley this morning. The Strip isn’t viewable from Green Valley. #vegas #vegasweather #nvwx pic.twitter.com/pc9NvSd7XR
— Mick Akers (@mickakers) September 11, 2024
Flight delays
At Harry Reid International Airport, the flight tracking website FlightAware said about 483 flights had been delayed Wednesday, including 262 delays from Southwest alone.
An airport spokesperson said the delays were due to smoke and haze.
The Clark County Division of Air Quality also issued a smoke alert for Wednesday.
Fires burning in S. California are bringing smoke into S. Nevada. Namely, the Bridge Fire (34k acres), Line Fire (33k acres), & Airport Fire (19k acres).
Residents in Las Vegas have noted ash falling from the sky. Air quality is poor & is likely to worsen through the night. pic.twitter.com/p40KNtGL1a
— NWS Las Vegas (@NWSVegas) September 11, 2024
UCLA climate scientist Daniel Swain said the fire moved extraordinarily fast across complex terrain, likely giving Wrightwood residents less time to evacuate than usual and surprising even seasoned fire officials.
The Bridge Fire “had to go up mountain sides, burn down slope, jump across valleys, burn across new ridges, and then make it down slope again at least two other times in effectively one burning period,” he said.
California is only now heading into the teeth of the wildfire season but already has seen nearly three times as much acreage burn than during all of 2023. The White House said President Joe Biden was monitoring the wildfires in the West and urged residents to heed state and local evacuation orders.
Advice to stay indoors
In a news release, officials said wildfire smoke is made of small particles and other pollutants that can aggravate respiratory diseases such as bronchitis and asthma or heart disease.
“Under today’s conditions, it may be best for children, the elderly and people with respiratory and heart disease to stay indoors,” the release said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Contact Marvin Clemons at mclemons@reviewjournal.com.