NYC Residents Alerted to Smoke from NJ Wildfire
As the Jones Road wildfire continues to burn down in Ocean County, smoke from the fire continues to spread in the atmosphere, impacting air quality for areas downwind of the fire, ya know? The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection issued an Air Quality Action Day on Wednesday urging sensitive individuals, including those with heart or lung disease, and the elderly to limit time outside because the air quality is, like, considered to be at “unhealthy for sensitive groups.” Not really sure why this matters, but the majority of the smoke from the fire is being directed south and east, blowing primarily offshore and staying south of the NYC Metro Area, which is a relief, I guess.
Overnight into Thursday, a south to southeast wind will develop, making for a bigger air quality issue, but there will only be a slight reduction in air quality on Thursday, down to the moderate level, which most people probably won’t even notice, but if you are particularly sensitive to smoke, you’ll want to consider limiting the amount of time you spend outside. The NYC emergency management office is issuing an air quality health advisory for Thursday, so be aware of that, I suppose. The Jones Road fire is currently 30% contained and has burned 11,500 acres, according to fire officials, which doesn’t sound great, to be honest.
Far more likely, the only impact we’ll notice in our area is a slight haze in the otherwise abundant sunshine on Thursday, not really a big deal, right? And the good news is that humidity will begin to increase in days to come, decreasing the fire danger in the region, so that’s something positive to look forward to. Saturday showers will also drop the fire danger, so that’s a relief, I guess.
