The haze and smoky smell residents undoubtedly noticed Thursday morning eased as north wind pushed into and out of the Bay area.

The haze and smoke smell came from wildfires in other parts of the state.

According to the Division of Forestry, a massive brush fire in north Florida is primarily responsible for the smoke. That brush fire is located west of Jacksonville and has burned at least 25,000 acres.

Brush fires in Volusia and Flagler counties are also contributing to the smoky conditions.

The smoke from the fires reached our area because of winds out of the north, according to Bay News 9 Meteorologist Juli Marquez.

The smoky conditions will not return.

"We're still going to have winds out of the northeast through tonight and then during the day tomorrow, the winds are going to start to change a little bit,” Marquez said. “It really looks thought that conditions will improve Saturday and Sunday, so we have this big area of high pressure building in, so our winds are going to come out of the east and even southeast over the weekend. So while it'll be breezy, the winds will not be coming in from the north or northeast like they are today."

The elevated pollution level has Hillsborough and Pinellas counties issuing a health alert warning the air quality could be unhealthy for people with certain conditions.
 
"When there's smoke in the air they're real fine particles, so what happens is those particles irritate the respiratory tract,” said Bay News 9 Priority Health Dr. Randy Shuck. “So anybody with chronic lung conditions are going to have problems and even those of us with allergies are going to have issues as well. We're gonna have much more symptoms, really going to be mucus production, scratchy throat, maybe some irritation in the back of the throat. But for asthmatics, they're going to have more respiratory issues, more wheezing and they need to be on their medications a little more."

As of Thursday, seven Florida counties are under burn bans, including Polk County.

There are no reported brush fires in the Bay area.

Health advisory issued

The Hillsborough County Health Department issued a warning noting that wildfire smoke is a respiratory irritant that can cause scratch throat or irritated eyes and nose. Smoke can also worsen conditions such as asthma and other chronic conditions such as asthma. Dust generated from increased wildfire response activity on dirt roads may worsen these conditions.

Hillsborough's advisory advises the following steps:

Pay attention to local air quality reports, news coverage or health warnings related to smoke.

Use common sense when outside conditions are smoky. Avoid prolonged outdoor activities. It is especially important to limit time spent outdoors for children and persons with existing medical conditions.

  • Stay indoors and run your air conditioner, if you have one. Keep the fresh air intake closed and the filter clean to prevent bringing additional smoke inside. For best results, run the air conditioning with re-circulated air.
  • Note: If you do not have an air conditioner, staying inside with the windows closed may be dangerous in extremely hot weather. In these cases, seek alternative shelter.
  • Help keep particle levels lower inside. When smoke levels are high, try to avoid using anything that burns, such as wood fireplaces, gas logs, gas stoves and even candles. Do not vacuum, which stirs up particles already inside your home. Also do not smoke tobacco.
  • Follow your doctor's advice about taking medicines and following your asthma management plan if you have asthma or other lung disease. Call your doctor if your symptoms worsen.

For local information on air quality, see http://www.epchc.org/current_air_quality.htm; and for more information on how smoke from fires can affect your health please visit http://www.airnow.gov/index.cfm?action=smoke.index.