The Gifford Fire burning in San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties has grown to over 72,000 acres as of Monday afternoon.
So far, ground level smoke from the fire has been primarily carried to the south, and has had little effect on our air quality in Kern County.
That may change, though.
High resolution models indicate a shift in winds Tuesday, which may bring smoke into Kern.
At this point the most likely time frame for that smoke to move into Kern would be Tuesday evening, and areas in southern Kern like Taft, Pine Mountain Club, and Frazier Park would be most likely to have air quality issues.
Any air quality impacts will depend not only on the wind, but on the amount of smoke the fire generates on Tuesday.
Besides the potential for smoke, we're also tracking a warm up this week.
Temperatures in Bakersfield are expected to say below our average high of 98° on Tuesday, be near average Wednesday, and likely in the triple digits starting Thursday and lasting through the weekend.
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