Air quality worsens Sunday in Carson Valley, Carson City due to Tamarack Fire
Submitted by Jeff Munson on Sun, 07/18/2021 - 10:46am
UPDATE: Many Carson Now readers are reporting the AQI figures are much higher, well into the 300 AQI range. We're checking on the latest and will update.
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Air quality continues to worsen Sunday morning, with an "unhealthy" range in the air quality index throughout Carson Valley in Douglas County and moving into the Carson City area, according to airnow.gov.
As of 10 a.m. Minden and Gardnerville had an Air Quality Index of 197. Carson City had an AQI reading of 151. When air quality reaches 151-200, it is considered unhealthy; meaning some members of the general public may begin to experience health effects, with sensitive groups feeling more serious effects. When the Air Quality Index exceeds 300, it is “hazardous” for everyone and may prompt emergency condition alerts.
Earlier Sunday morning during the 9 a.m. reading, Minden and Gardnerville were both in the "very unhealthy" AQI range, where the risk of health effects is increased for everyone.
For Carson City, the air quality index is expected to be in the unhealthy range throughout the day, which means some members of the general public may experience health effects; members of sensitive groups may experience more serious health effects.
According to the National Weather Service in Reno, smoke is expected to spread across portions of western Nevada, causing areas of poor air quality especially, but not limited to, near and south of Highway 50 and west of Highway 95.
