RALEIGH, N.C. — Smoke from wildfires could continue causing unhealthy air quality throughout the coastal region of North Carolina for today and Thursday, state officials say.
Residents east of Interstate 95 could experience unhealthy air quality, and people are advised to avoid or reduce prolonged or heavy exertion outdoors if they can see and smell smoke.
Fires in the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge in Dare and Hyde counties, the Holly Shelter Game Land in Pender County, and southeast Georgia are affecting some coastal communities with smoke that could contain high levels of particle pollution. Smoke from the fires is drifting downwind. For more information about the North Carolina fires, check out the link on the national interagency website, http://www.inciweb.org/state/34/.
Air quality monitors operated by the N.C. Division of Air Quality, or DAQ, have shown elevated particle pollution due to smoke from the fire. People who live in counties close to the fire, particularly sensitive groups, should limit their outdoor activities if they can see and smell heavy smoke.
Some of the highest particle pollution levels that DAQ has ever measured were in smoke plumes from wildfires. Recent concentrations have reached Code Purple, or very unhealthy, at times in counties close to the fires. The highest particle concentrations have tended to occur during the evening and early morning hours. Particles can be harmful to breathe and contribute to haze and other air quality problems.
The air pollution forecast for the rest of today and Thursday predicts that fine particle levels in the coastal region could exceed the standard of 35 micrograms per cubic meter averaged over 24 hours. High particle levels can impair breathing and aggravate symptoms in people with heart and respiratory problems, and irritate the lungs in healthy individuals. People with chronic lung and heart ailments as well as children and older adults should reduce physical exertion and outdoor activity.
Forecasters have predicted potential Code Red or unhealthy air quality in Pender, Duplin, Onslow, New Hanover and Brunswick counties. Code Orange conditions, or air quality that is unhealthy for sensitive groups, could occur from an area bounded by Jacksonville, Kenansville and Whiteville. The Pains Bay fire may also produce Code Red smoke concentrations in Dare and Code Orange smoke in eastern Hyde and Tyrell Counties. Intermittent smoke concentrations may reach Code Orange throughout much of the Coastal Plain.
The Code Red forecast for Pender, Duplin, Onslow, New Hanover, Brunswick and Dare counties means people sensitive to air pollution should avoid all physical activity outdoors. In other forecast areas, sensitive groups should avoid or reduce prolonged or heavy exertion outdoors. Sensitive groups include older adults, children, people who work or exercise outdoors and those with heart conditions and respiratory ailments such as asthma, bronchitis and emphysema. Everyone else should avoid or reduce prolonged or heavy exertion.
Fine particles can penetrate deeply into the lungs and be absorbed into the bloodstream, causing or aggravating heart and lung diseases. Persons most susceptible to particle pollution include those with heart and respiratory conditions, older adults and young children. Symptoms of exposure to high particle levels include: irritation of the eyes, nose and throat; coughing; phlegm; chest pain or tightness; shortness of breath and asthma attacks.
More information on air quality in North Carolina can be found at the DAQ website, www.ncair.org. More information on the health effects of smoke can be found at this website: http://www.airnow.gov/index.cfm?action=smoke.page1#4.
