smoke drifting – For a fifth straight day, periodic smoke from a Boyle Heights fire blanketed parts of Los Angeles, from Dodger Stadium to downtown and the Eastside. Erratic winds have sent smoke in different directions, while air quality officials extended a Particle Pollutio
Smoke rolled over Los Angeles again on Sunday, landing in places as different as Dodger Stadium, downtown Los Angeles and the Eastside—punctuated by the same unpleasant drift from a Boyle Heights fire that has been burning for a fifth straight day.
Weather officials said erratic winds have been sending smoke to different parts of the region this weekend. leaving residents to deal with changing conditions hour to hour. The South Coast Air Quality Management District extended a Particle Pollution Advisory to Monday afternoon. The advisory covers a large swath stretching from the San Fernando Valley to Riverside County.
On the ground, the Los Angeles Fire Department said it made significant progress Sunday in battling the fire, but full containment remains unclear.
At a city smoke relief center set up at Pecan Recreation Center. Ashley Campos. 18. said her family had already left their home on Hicks Avenue near the fire because of health concerns. Campos said her 44-year-old mother has asthma, her 9-year-old brother has epilepsy, and her 68-year-old grandmother is battling cancer.
Campos said the family lives about two blocks from the warehouse fire and could smell smoke inside their home. They considered an air purifier, but found units too expensive or unavailable for immediate delivery.
“We didn’t want to even risk it,” Campos said. Her father has remained at the family’s house “just in case anything happens,” she added.
Campos said the family has struggled to obtain an air purifier and has heard similar concerns from neighbors. “It’s really hard,” she said. “My dad tried looking for one, but he couldn’t find them.”
Farther west, downtown Los Angeles carried its own version of the day’s disruption. Wil Blake, who lives a block from Walt Disney Concert Hall, said he woke up Sunday morning to the smell of “soot and smoke” in the air, a reminder of last year’s wildfires.
Blake said he typically keeps his windows open because his air conditioner has been out of service in recent weeks. After noticing the smoke, he shut the windows. He also wore a mask outdoors and went to a nearby Planet Fitness because he “needed to get some filtered air.”
On the Eastside, the smoke has moved into everyday routines like a lingering irritant. At Yia Caffe, a coffee shop a few blocks from the warehouse fire, manager Leo Miguel said the conditions are affecting both customers and employees.
Miguel said many customers are opting to grab their drinks and go rather than linger outside as smoke drifts through the neighborhood. The smell is “like chemicals and plastic,” Miguel said. He added that it leaves his mouth feeling dry and makes it “hard to breathe.”
Miguel said business has slowed since the fire began Wednesday, and that conditions do not appear to be improving. “I don’t think it’s getting better,” he said. “If anything, it’s getting worse.”
Los Angeles Boyle Heights fire smoke air quality advisory Particle Pollution Advisory South Coast Air Quality Management District Los Angeles Fire Department health concerns asthma epilepsy cancer Pecan Recreation Center downtown Los Angeles