Richmond air quality upgraded to Code Purple as wildfire smoke moves south
Richmond was placed under a Code Purple air quality alert Friday morning as smoke from massive Canadian wildfires continued to spread across the region.
“They are pretty big fires and producing a lot of smoke,” said Kristen Stumpf, a meteorologist with the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality. “It’s very visible on satellite.”
On Friday, winds from the north brought increased haze and a distinct smoky tang to the air in Richmond, with conditions worsening throughout the morning.
At 8 a.m., DEQ issued a Code Red “Unhealthy” air quality alert for the Richmond area, signaling that the region’s air quality index — a measure of how clean air is — had fallen in the 151 to 200 range. By comparison, a “Good” air quality rating would be between 0 and 50.
Two hours later, the agency upgraded Richmond’s alert to Code Purple, or “Very Unhealthy,” as the index continued to rise above 200. Chesterfield County said it had received several 911 calls “reporting smoky conditions and the smell of smoke.”
Stumpf said the main concern is the presence in the air of fine particles known as PM 2.5. These particles, which are smaller than the diameter of a hair, “can get through our respiratory system and deeper into our lungs,” exacerbating respiratory and heart problems.
“Active children and adults should limit or reschedule strenuous outdoor activities throughout the day,” DEQ said in a release. “People unusually sensitive to air pollution, especially those with heart or lung disease (including asthma), should avoid strenuous outdoor activities, take more breaks, and do less intense activities. People with asthma should follow their asthma action plans and keep quick-relief medicine handy.”
Some relief could come this weekend.
“We are expecting a wind shift tomorrow as well as the chance of some rain this weekend,” said Stumpf.
But in the meantime, the poor conditions were putting a damper on some activities and business.
- All City of Richmond camp programming has been moved indoors.
- Outdoor city pools will be closed Friday. Residents can access indoor swimming at Bellemede Community Center Pool (1800 Lynhaven Avenue, open Friday until 8 p.m.) and Swansboro Pool (3160 Midlothian Turnpike, open Friday until 8 p.m.).
- The scheduled Festival of the Arts performance at Dogwood Dell (KOS BAND) has been cancelled.
Maymont announced in a Facebook post that many of its farm and wild animals would be kept out of public view Friday to ensure they were “cool and safe.” Some day camps, like the YMCA of Greater Richmond’s Camp Thunderbird, moved to adjust schedules to keep kids inside.
As of 5 p.m., the Richmond Flying Squirrels game is on as scheduled.
Alex Bangs, a co-owner of bike delivery service Quickness RVA, said his company had decided to close today because of the health risks to its couriers.
“I don’t want to ask anybody else to do this,” said Bangs after one morning ride left him suffering from effects that were “like the worst pollen you can think of.”
“The particulate matter is enough that it’s hurting my eyes,” he said.
Contact Reporter Sarah Vogelsong at svogelsong@richmonder.org
