Smoke expected to clear today

Smoke and haze wafting over the region from two North Carolina wildfires should begin to clear later this morning, according to the National Weather Service.

The sources of the smoke were likely from a 40,000-acre, lightning-sparked blaze in the central Outer Banks about 50 miles west of Nags Head, N.C., and a nearly 1,000-acre fire near Suffolk along the North Carolina border, weather experts said.

Winds blew smoke west-northwest to the Danville area, affecting Pittsylvania, Halifax, Henry and Patrick counties, as well as Caswell, Rockingham and Stokes counties in North Carolina, the National Weather Service said.

The fire near Nags Head in the Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge has been burning since June 1 and is about 40 percent contained, Mark Willis, a meteorologist with the weather service in Morehead City, N.C., said Thursday.

Willis said winds have been shifting the last few days. The other blaze, the Great Dismal Swamp Fire, has been burning about four days.

However, winds from the south should send the region’s smoke and haze out of the area to the north

today, said Robert Stonefield, a meteorologist with the weather service in Blacksburg.

Stonefield said Thursday that if fog forms along with the smoke, visibility for drivers could drop from about 10 miles to less than one-fourth of a mile. Visibility was at about 21/2 miles at Danville Regional Airport on Thursday, he said.

Jim Davis, emergency services director for Pittsylvania County, said there were no emergency calls related to conditions but residents had called about the smoke. He warned that smoke from the faraway fires could mask potential fires in the area.

“People need to just make sure that when they see smoke, they don’t also see a fire,” Davis said.

Danville Fire Chief David Eagle said there were no fires in the city limits Thursday contributing to the conditions.

He said the fire department’s hazardous materials teams monitored air quality and found pollution levels within safe limits. Eagle still recommends that children, the elderly and those with respiratory illnesses avoid the smoke.

Air quality in the Dan River Region is not bad enough to warrant serious health concerns for those with respiratory problems, according to the Virginia Health Department.

The region’s air quality is barely into the Air Quality Index’s yellow level, Dr. Charles Devine III, acting health director for the department’s Danville Pittsylvania County District, said Thursday.

Yellow is the second level of a six-level chart with the sixth being the most hazardous. The AQI is the standard system state and local air-pollution control agencies use to notify the public about air-pollution levels - including those for ozone and particulate matter, according to the American Lung Association.

When air quality hits the yellow zone, unusually sensitive individuals should limit prolonged outdoor exertion, Devine said.

He said those with conditions such as asthma should not worry.

“We don’t expect folks with pre-existing problems to have trouble with the amount of ozone and particulate matter in the air,” Devine said.

Concerned individuals can take precautions by staying indoors with windows closed.

Turn on the air conditioner to re-circulate indoor air and avoid smoking, burning candles or doing anything else that could increase levels of indoor particulate matter, Devine said.

Contact John R. Crane at jcrane@registerbee.com or (434) 791-7987.