HONOLULU (KHON2) — Smoke from California wildfires continues to move through the Hawaiian Islands, according to National Weather Service of Honolulu.
California saw more than 13,000 lightning strikes in August and more than 600 wildfires broke out statewide. In total, more than 1.2 million acres of land have burned this summer, said Daniel Berlant, assistant deputy director with the fire protection agency known as Cal Fire.
For more than two weeks residents across much of the state have hunkered indoors to ride out Air Quality Index (AQI) readings in the triple digits, indicating unhealthy conditions for people with medical conditions. Some parts of the state have seen AQI numbers spike well into the “unhealthy” or even “hazardous” level regardless of physical health.
Now, satellite imagery from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows plumes of smoke drifting some 2,500 miles from Southern California to the Hawaiian Islands. Despite the drift, AQI readings on the islands were in the low double digits Tuesday, indicating healthy air quality for island residents.
Northern California residents continue to face the highest AQI readings in the nation, but KRON4 reports that a weather pattern moving onshore late this week should help clear the air in the San Francisco Bay Area.