Smoke from California wildfires obscures the view in the Las Vegas Valley Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2016. The smoke prompted an air quality advisory, according to the Clark County Department of Air Quality.
Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2016 | 9:37 a.m.
Smoke from California wildfires blanketed the Las Vegas Valley this morning, prompting an air quality advisory, according to the Clark County Department of Air Quality.
The smoke is from the 28-square-mile fire burning in the Cajon Pass east of Los Angeles. The fire forced a shutdown of part of Interstate 15, leaving commuters and travelers stranded for hours.
The smoke began rolling into the valley late Tuesday afternoon and got thicker overnight, county officials said.
The Department of Air Quality issued an advisory today for potentially elevated levels of ozone and smoke due to the fire. The advisory runs through Friday.
Smoke is made of small dust particles and other pollutants that can aggravate respiratory diseases and contribute to ground-level ozone formation, officials said.
At this time, unhealthy levels of ozone and particulate matter are not occurring, but it may be best for young children, seniors and people with respiratory problems or cardiac disease to stay indoors, officials said.
County officials will continue to monitor conditions and will post an updates on the forecast page of the DAQ website.
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