PRESS RELEASE

Long Beach, CA - City Health Officer Anissa Davis warns Long Beach residents about potential unhealthy air quality due to the Bond fire in Orange County, which is producing heavy smoke. All individuals are urged to exercise caution and avoid unnecessary outdoor activities. 

The City’s Department of Parks, Recreation and Marine has canceled all field permits, Mobile Recess and outdoor activities for afterschool camp programs and at Belmont Pool until further notice.

Smoke and ash rising into the atmosphere may be visible over portions of Long Beach and surrounding areas, potentially creating unhealthy conditions. All individuals are urged to exercise caution and avoid unnecessary outdoor activities in any area directly impacted by smoke and ash. This includes areas where residents can see or smell smoke. In any area impacted by smoke, residents should take the following precautions:

• Avoid any vigorous outdoor or indoor exertion.
• Remain indoors, especially for individuals with respiratory or heart disease, pregnant women, older adults and children.
• Keep windows and doors closed or seek alternate shelter.
• Run your air conditioner if you have one.
• Change the standard air-conditioner filter to a medium or high efficiency filter. If you have a wall-unit or window-unit air conditioner, set it to “recirculate.”
• Avoid the use of a swamp cooler or whole-house fan to prevent bringing additional smoke inside, if possible.
• Avoid indoor or outdoor wood-burning appliances, including fireplaces, to avoid worsening the health effects of wildfire smoke.

For more detailed information about air quality related to the wildfires, visit the South Coast Air Quality Management District’s website at aqmd.gov or view a map of local real-time air quality data. If you would like to sign up for air quality forecasts, subscribe by visiting airalerts.org. 

The Bond Fire is rapidly spreading through Silverado Canyon, Modjeska Canyon and Williams Canyon, leading to evacuations. A map of evacuation zones can be found on the Orange County Sheriff’s Bond Fire information page. 

Media inquiries regarding air quality in Long Beach can be directed to Judeth Luong, Manager, Bureau of Environmental Health, 562.570.4104 or Judeth.Luong@longbeach.gov. 

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