Dear Friend --

I’d like to take a moment to thank the 33 Long Beach firefighters deployed to assist with the fires across the State. Overall, we have more than 14,000 firefighters across California fighting the 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th largest wildfires in California history at the same time.  This is an incredibly challenging situation. I want to thank them for their work and we pray for their safety.

As wildfires continue to burn throughout the Western US, including two major fires here in Southern California, I know many of you may be concerned about the air quality in Long Beach. Smoke and ash are visible in the sky over and around our city and this can make the air unhealthful to breathe, especially for people with any kind of breathing impairment.

We are hopeful the wind will help move smoke off shore, but in the meantime, public health officials are recommending we minimize our exposure to the smoke and ash. Our health officials have this advice to share for areas affected by smoke:

• Avoid any vigorous outdoor or indoor exertion.
• Remain indoors, especially for individuals with respiratory or heart disease, pregnant women, older adults and children.
• Keep windows and doors closed or seek alternate shelter.
• Run your air conditioner if you have one.
• Change the standard air-conditioner filter to a medium or high efficiency filter. If you have a wall-unit or window-unit air conditioner, set it to “re-circulate.”
• If possible, avoid the use of a swamp cooler or whole-house fan to prevent bringing additional smoke inside.  
• Avoid indoor or outdoor wood-burning appliances, including fireplaces, to avoid worsening the health effects of wildfire smoke.

You can visit the Air Quality Management District webpage at AQMD.gov for frequent updates about the local air quality. 

Thank you and stay safe,