(WASHINGTON POST) – Several colleges in California’s Bay Area are closed as smoke from the massive Camp Fire has made air quality unhealthful.
The University of California at Berkeley canceled classes and shut down all but essential operations through Friday, Chancellor Carol Christ announced. She reminded students who need respirators that they are available.
The University of San Francisco closed its Northern California campuses through Friday as the air quality index rose above 200 in San Francisco on Thursday. The Environmental Protection Agency rates air quality from zero to 500, with zero being the lowest risk. Air quality measured as 200 to 300 is considered “very unhealthy” and triggers an alert that everyone may experience adverse health effects.
The air quality was another sign of the pervasive impact of the wildfires tearing through California. The fires have destroyed communities, taken more than 60 lives, closed roads, isolated regions and left rescuers searching for hundreds of missing people.
