The Camp Fire is causing smoke to build in Kern County, leading to bad air quality.
Cassandra Melching with the San Joaquin Air Pollution Control District said when air is polluted by wildfire smoke, the general AQI published by Valley Air every day is not the best gauge of how bad the air is because smoke isn't measured in that reading.
She recommends using RAAN, which measures all pollutants. It also gives air quality measurements for more specific areas, so the public can see where their area falls on the spectrum.
Also on the website is a chart with recommended activities based on how bad the air quality is.
Melching said the air is bad in Kern County because of geography and weather. The county is surrounded by mountains, which traps air. Winds are then needed to blow the air out of the county.
