Community Corner

Safety Alert Issued In Andover Following Western Wildfire Smoke

Andover Fire Rescue is advising residents to avoid outdoor activities while smoky conditions persist.

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Smoke has been carried east via the jetstream from fires burning in Oregon and elsewhere, resulting in reduced air quality and smoke odor locally.
Smoke has been carried east via the jetstream from fires burning in Oregon and elsewhere, resulting in reduced air quality and smoke odor locally. (Oregon Department of Forestry via AP)

ANDOVER, MA — Andover Fire Rescue is warning residents to be aware that hazy conditions visible in town and throughout the region are the result of western wildfires. Because of those conditions, the department is urging residents to take precautions to protect their respiratory health.

This image from the NASA Earth Observatory shows patterns of smoke from wildfires streaking across the U.S., creating unhealthy outdoor air quality and moving federal and state authorities to issue alerts.

Smoke has been carried east via the jetstream from fires burning in Oregon and elsewhere, resulting in reduced air quality and smoke odor locally. Residents are urged to avoid outdoor activities while smoky conditions persist.

The National Weather Service and Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection have issued an air quality alert for the region. The DEP alert remains in effect until midnight Tuesday, July 27.

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A map proved by Mass. DEP shows unhealthy and potentially unhealthy air quality for much of the state at this time.

The air quality alert means that particles and pollution in the air have reached unhealthy levels. The DEP advises that the air quality may cause health effects even in otherwise healthy people.

According to Andover Fire Rescue, residents are urged to avoid prolonged or heavy outdoor exertion and should consider moving outdoor events inside or rescheduling them. Those with asthma should keep quick-relief medicine handy.

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