Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Strong winds forecast; health advisory continues

Local air quality officials are advising young children, older people and those with chronic lung conditions to stay indoors this Halloween night because the valley's chilly skies are still shrouded with wildland fire smoke and wind-stirred dust.

The Las Vegas Valley also has a chance of rain tonight through Saturday morning. The Spring Mountains could receive one to three inches of snow above 4,500 feet overnight, National Weather Service forecasters said, but the winds are expected to continue until Saturday.

Officials continued a health advisory warning through today because southerly winds are expected to continue to blow 15 mph to 25 mph with higher gusts, Clark County Air Quality Management Division Director Christine Robinson said. Wind direction is expected to be erratic.

Under existing pollution conditions, airborne dust levels are considered hazardous to the health of most people.

The one-two punch of smoke from the California fires and the gusty winds kicking up local dust created a regional pollution threat, Robinson said.

"It's not a localized situation, something we could have prevented," she said.

Clark County air quality officials had requested on Tuesday that all construction managers secure sites under development to control dust.

"There's no such thing as a typical dust storm," Robinson said.

While Southern California wildfires blanketed Southern Nevada with a gray, stinking pall on Wednesday, dust particles turned normal blue skies brown and white on Thursday.

The thick smoke reduced visibility to a half-mile on Wednesday.

While the smoke pushed pollution levels into unhealthful levels on Wednesday, dust pollution affected a wider area of Southern Nevada on Thursday.

While the smoke alarmed many Las Vegas residents, Robinson said, Thursday's dust combined with the fire's haze caused worsening pollution problems through Thursday morning.

"These are some of the highest numbers I've seen," Robinson said Thursday night of particulate levels recorded around the valley.

Late Wednesday night into Thursday morning, the pollution readings "skyrocketed," Robinson said.

Between 6 a.m. and 1 p.m. the valley's air exceeded federal air quality standards for particulate matter six times, Air Quality Division enforcement officer Cheryl McDonnell said, compared to three on Wednesday.

"We expect it to get better by, say, Saturday," McDonnell said.

"Unless you want to get rid of your mother, don't send her out jogging," McDonnell said, noting that the pollution advisory warns people against exposing themselves to pollution through strenuous outdoor exercise while the haze hangs in the air.

Half of Thursday's high pollution levels occurred in outlying areas, including Apex, Boulder City and Mesquite. Two sites on Craig Road and one in the Henderson community of Green Valley recorded unhealthy dust levels.

Dust blowing across U.S. 95 between Laughlin and Searchlight south of Las Vegas caused authorities to shut down the highway during the day on Thursday after three accidents occurred, including one that killed a person.

The Green Valley pollution reading occurred at 1 p.m., the last one on Thursday.

The winds finally died down after sunset around 5 p.m.

With sustained winds between 25 mph and 35 mph on Thursday, the highest gust at McCarran International Airport, the weather service's official site, hit 45 mph at 8:56 a.m., weather service meteorologist Jon Adair said.

Air quality officials set up a hotline Wednesday and Thursday so people concerned with health issues could call and get immediate answers.

Robinson said the hotline is unplugged, but if pollution returns today it will be reconnected. At least 375 calls had been logged by air quality staff at 6 p.m. Thursday.

The air pollution spread around the valley on Thursday.

"When you're seeing it across the board, it's the winds," Robinson said.

Under federal regulations, a single exceedence of national air quality standards at any of the valley's 22 monitoring sites is considered a violation of the Environmental Protection Agency's standard for dust particles that are only as thick as a human hair. This type of inhalable air pollution aggravates respiratory diseases such as bronchitis or asthma, county spokeswoman Stacey Welling said.

Excessive amounts of dust blowing off construction sites and vacant lots can be reported by calling 385-DUST (3878).

For more information about air quality, visit the county's website at accessclarkcounty.com. A special section on the front page called "California Wildlife Effects" will link users to fire and air quality information.

archive