Wildfire smoke from California sticking around Las Vegas Valley

Hazy smoke from a California wildfire blanketed Las Vegas’ sky on Monday and could continue into the week.

The Gifford Fire in San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties, which started Friday, has burned over 65,000 acres and was 3 percent contained as of Monday morning, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

Winds blew that wildfire smoke and the smell of burning wood to Las Vegas over the weekend, causing many parts of the valley to have unhealthy air quality during parts of Monday.

Weather service data from Harry Reid International Airport showed south-southwest winds bringing smoky conditions between 8:55 a.m. and 12:45 p.m. Monday.

As the smoke blew eastward, local air monitors began recording unhealthy levels of smaller particulate matter pollution caused by wildfire smoke throughout the valley.

Some amount of smoke is likely to remain over Las Vegas through at least Wednesday, National Weather Service meteorologist Andrew Gorelow said Monday evening.

NWS meteorologists earlier in the day added that smoke levels throughout the week will depend on levels of fire containment and wind direction.

A representative from the Clark County Department of Environment and Sustainability said Monday morning that the nearby wildfires will likely affect air quality through at least Friday.

The department’s air quality forecast predicted high levels of ozone that is unhealthy for sensitive groups through Tuesday and moderate through Friday.

These sensitive groups include seniors, children and people with lung or heart disease. The forecast also projected moderate levels of smaller particulate matter pollution from wildfire smoke through Wednesday.

Contact Spencer Levering at slevering@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0253.