Dixie Fire brings unhealthy air to Douglas County

Murky conditions are expected to prevail in Carson Valley over the weekend as smoke from wildfires west of the Sierra pours into Western Nevada.

“Saturday may be particularly awful when it comes to the smoke and haze,” National Weather Service Reno forecasters said in a statement issued Friday morning.

Visibility at Minden-Tahoe Airport dropped from nine miles at 11 a.m. to a mile by 2:35 p.m. and kept dropping to a half-mile.

As visibility decreased the air quality kept getting worse hitting very unhealthy levels by 4 p.m. as the smoke descended into the lower parts of Carson Valley. The heavy smoke kept the high temperature in Minden down to 84 degrees.

The weather service issued a statement warning that the Dixie and other wildfires are continuing to produce smoke.

The Dixie Fire burning along the south shore of Lake Almanor has consumed 676 square miles and is 35 percent contained. There are other fires burning, but they are dwarfed by the Dixie Fire.

“Visible satellite imagery … along with air quality and visibility sensors showed the rapid progression of the smoke plume south and southeast as a cold front pushed through the region,” forecasters said.

“Light winds on Friday may keep smoke across the Sierra and Western Nevada for much of the day, including this evening, where little to no west winds are forecast.”

There may be some hope that the smoke will clear a little this afternoon.

“But for the most part the smoke will persist through Saturday with varying degrees of smoke density,” forecasters said. “This may limit visibility and will likely impact air quality for much of the region.”

Residents who are susceptible to high levels of smoke are advised to remain indoors.