Monterey Peninsula, Salinas area ‘unhealthy’ air quality cause for concern - Monterey Herald

Jeremy Hadland, R.N., emergency department manager at Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare System, said there has been an increase in people seeking medical treatment for respiratory issues from smoke exposure mostly in the early days of the River and Carmel fires.

But the Dolan Fire near Big Sur, in addition to other fires around California, is contributing to the ongoing fluctuations in air quality throughout the region and many air monitoring stations in Monterey County have reached “unhealthy” levels due to wildfire smoke in recent days.

Over the next few days, south/southeasterly winds will be pushing the Dolan Fire smoke north toward the Monterey Peninsula and Salinas areas, said Robert Allen, incident commander with the U.S.

Casey Grover, Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula emergency department medical director.

Breathing in PM2.5 can reduce lung function, worsen asthma and other existing heart and lung conditions, and cause coughing, wheezing and difficulty breathing.

People who have pre-existing lung conditions such as asthma or emphysema will have exacerbations of these conditions, which may include cough, difficulty breathing, or wheezing,” said Grover.

“For people who do not have pre-existing lung conditions the smoke is irritating and can also cause cough, difficulty breathing, or wheezing.”.

“For example a person who works outside and is having symptoms of cough or difficulty breathing should work inside as much as possible.

See the Monterey Bay Air Resources District (http://air.mbard.org/) website for the air quality index, and visit Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare Systems  (https://svmh.communitycovidinfo.com/) and Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula (https://www.chomp.org/coronavirus/) for more information