Smoke to linger in Bay Area skies through Friday

An air quality advisory issued in the Bay Area for Thursday because of smoke coming into the region from wildfires further north is being extended through Friday, according to the Bay Area Air Quality Management District.

The smoke from fires in Northern California and southern Oregon is mostly expected to stay aloft, but some may come to the ground level, especially in parts of the North and East Bay at higher elevations, air district officials said.

The air quality is not expected to be poor enough to prompt a Spare the Air alert, but the district encourages anyone who smells smoke to stay inside with windows and doors closed until it subsides, and to set air conditioning units to re-circulate to prevent any smoky air from outside to get in their building or vehicle.

People can follow the latest air quality readings from the air district at baaqmd.gov/highs.