STUDIO CITY, Calif. — When it’s raining ash and you don’t know which direction the fire it’s coming from, it’s a cause for concern. And for Matthew Mullins, it doesn’t matter how far away the fire is. He suffers from acute asthma and can feel it in his lungs as soon as he wakes up.

“I’ve had asthma my entire life and the triggers are mostly weather like this or fires,” said Matthew Mullins. “Whenever there’s a fire, I have a little bit of a problem and definitely I’d say, the air quality. I watch it all the time, the index.”

What You Need To Know

  • SCAQMD provides air quality forecasts for all of Orange County, and major portions of Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino counties

  • Wildfires and heat contribute to poor air quality

  • If you smell smoke or see ash due to a wildfire, remain indoors and limit physical activity

  • Create a clean air space in your home by using a portable air cleaner instead of or in addition to your air conditioner

With the Bobcat fire in Angeles National Forest and the El Dorado fire in San Bernardino, Matthew in Studio City is surrounded by soot and ash in the air. And with the excessive heat which contributes to street level ozone, it’s a perfect storm for poor overall air quality, which means it’s not safe for Matthew to leave the house.

“When it’s poor, I hardly go outside at all, actually,” said Mullins.

According to the South Coast Air Quality Management District, the levels in Santa Clarita are reported to be unhealthy for sensitive groups with AQI levels between 101-150, which means those with health issues may experience health effects. That means Matthew may need to use his inhaler.

“It’s actually an emergency inhaler and you take it when you’re short of breath, but I use them a lot more often on days like today,” said Mullins..

Philip Fine is the Deputy Executive Officer at the South Coast AQMD.

“It’s not a great day for air quality. We kind of have a double whammy going,” said Fine.

Wildfires and the weather, which they both closely monitor.

“Hot stagnant days are definitely the days we get our highest levels of ozone, but heat also contributes to the likelihood of wildfires,” said Fine. “We have a couple fairly large wildfires going on right now in Southern California and they’re contributing to particulate matter and the smoke that people are probably experiencing throughout the basin.”

Today is one of those days where it’s safer inside than out and Matthew is definitely feeling the smoke in his lungs.

 

“If you have an air purifier, that’s a good thing,” said Mullins. “I have one in my house and I bought it the last time there was a huge fire because basically, you can feel all the particles in your lungs from the fire and it doesn’t matter where you are. If you’re close to it, far away, you still feel it.”


Matthew is staying as careful as possible, especially knowing COVID is particularly dangerous to those with asthma. He’s prescribed an inhaler for emergencies as well as a steroid as a preventative, but there’s something better no doctor can prescribe.

“Honestly, I think the best thing you could ever have is just clean air,” said Mullins.

Whether it’s due to COVID-19 or bad air quality, stay safe, stay inside.