A smoke advisory was issued for parts of the Victor Valley due to a massive warehouse fire in Redlands that started early Friday morning.
“A large continuous cloud of black smoke is moving up and over the San Bernardino mountains from Redlands and air quality sensor data shows impacts to ambient (breathable) air quality in Adelanto, Apple Valley, Hesperia, Lucerne Valley, Phelan and Victorville and immediate surrounding communities,” the Mojave Desert Air Quality Management District said in a statement.
The agency said air quality in other parts of the Victor Valley were unaffected as of around 10:30 a.m. Friday.
Redlands Fire Department posted a video of the blaze at 7:22 a.m. on their Facebook page, saying it was burning at a distribution center on West Lugonia Avenue and that westbound Interstate 10 was shut down.
The building is operated by a third-party operator, Kuehne+Nagel, which ships “extra large items to customers” for Amazon, the San Bernardino Sun reported.
The San Bernardino County Fire Department tweeted they were assisting RFD on the three-alarm fire.
REDLANDS: #SBCoFD currently ASSISTING @RedlandsFD on a 3rd alarm COMMERCIAL STRUCTURE FIRE at the Amazon Distribution Center, 2k block W Lugonia. 5 engines, 1 truck, and 2 chief officers from county fire assigned. pic.twitter.com/UMmxrU9D1p
— SB County Fire (@SBCOUNTYFIRE) June 5, 2020
The MDAQMD said air quality levels for some High Desert areas were in the orange, meaning unhealthy for people with preexisting conditions such as respiratory or heart disease, children, seniors and those who work or exercise outside.
The agency recommended staying indoors with windows and doors closed and running an air conditioner for recirculating air.
As of 1:00 p.m. AirNow, an air quality reporting site, showed the following levels: Adelanto, moderate; Apple Valley, moderate; Hesperia, good; Phelan, good; and Victorville, moderate.
Moderate in the yellow range means air quality is acceptable, though there may be a risk for people “unusually sensitive to air pollution,” according to the U.S. Air Quality Index.
The Victor Valley communities in that range showed PM2.5 pollution, or fine particulate matter that is inhalable and can cause damage to the heart and lungs.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, PM2.5 “poses the greatest risk to health” out of two types of particulate matter pollution.
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©2020 Daily Press, Victorville, Calif.
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