Smoky skies trigger air quality alert for Sonoma County

An air quality advisory was issued for Sonoma County through Tuesday as smoke from wildfires to the north continued to blow into the area.

The smoke was expected to stay high in the air and cover Sonoma County in haze, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District said.

A thick marine layer also blanketed Sonoma County on Monday. The fog brought some moisture to the ground, according to the National Weather Service, which recorded 0.03 inches of precipitation in Santa Rosa in the 48 hours leading up to Monday morning.

Air quality in Sonoma County was set to stay in the good to moderate range on Monday, the air quality district said in its advisory, which was issued across the Bay Area.

The district stopped short of issuing a Spare the Air alert because pollution levels were not expected to exceed federal health standards.

The advisory came as numerous large wildfires continued to burn in Northern California and winds pushed the smoke south over the Bay Area.

The biggest blazes included the Dixie fire, which has become the largest single wildfire on record in California at 725,821 acres, according to Cal Fire. It was 40% contained on Monday morning.

The Caldor fire south of Lake Tahoe also ranked among the largest of the fires currently burning in the state at 104,309 acres, according to Cal Fire. It was 5% contained.

To check real-time air quality go to bit.ly/3B8ijt0.

You can reach Staff Writer Matt Pera at matthew.pera@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @Matt__Pera.