Sunny skies are in the forecast for Santa Barbara County through this week, along with a welcome break from the heat wave that gripped the region in recent days.
Daytime highs are expected in the mid- to upper-70s along the coast, but to still reach the low-90s in the Santa Ynez Valley and other inland areas, according to the National Weather Service in Oxnard.
Overnight lows should be in the mid- to upper-50s.
The county also should see some relief, for at least the next couple days, from the smokey conditions caused by wildfires burning in other areas of the state, said Lyz Hoffman, a spokeswoman for the county Air Pollution Control District.
“Even though things are improving here now, we know that so much of the state is still experiencing smoke,” Hoffman said. “Our area will be affected by wildfire smoke again at some point in the future, and we need to prepare for that impact.”
Tuesday’s air quality forecast for the county is moderate, and is not expected to reach an unhealthy level, Hoffman said.
Southwest winds of 5-10 mph are expected on Tuesday, shifting to the north on Wednesday, with gusts to 15 mph.
That change may cause additional smoke impacts locally, depending on the status of wildfires in surrounding areas, she added.
Some 14,000 firefighters continue to battle more than two dozen major blazes across California, some caused by the nearly 300 lightning strikes across the state on Sunday night, according to a CalFire statewide incident summary on Monday.
“Poor air quality continues for much of the state due to ongoing wildfires,” the summary said. “Significant cool down is likely this week, with an onshore flow and deep marine layer in Southern California.”
The Lake Fire near Castaic in Los Angeles County had burned 31,089 acres as of Monday, and was only 62% contained, according to the report.
The Dolan Fire in Los Padres National Forest in the Big Sur area was 10% contained, and had blackened more than 20,000 acres.
“I encourage people to stay informed about the air quality, and do their best to maintain safe indoor air quality during these times,” Hoffman said.
Click here for the latest forecast from the National Weather Service.
— Noozhawk staff writer Jade Martinez-Pogue can be reached at jmartinez-pogue@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.