The Chattanooga area has been engulfed in a smoky haze for the past 24 hours, resulting in a moderate air quality warning from the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Air Pollution Control Bureau.
According to the daily air quality report put out by the bureau, the highest pollutant is fine particles.
The moderate rating is just one step above good, but the bureau cautions people who are unusually sensitive to air quality to reduce prolonged exposure.
Smoke from several prescribed burns in Georgia and Alabama blew in and settled on Chattanooga, said Tyler Cantrell, air monitoring manager at the bureau.
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“The wind, weather right now, is just pushing it basically directly over us,” Cantrell said by phone. “And really, throughout the last few days, we haven’t had much wind or anything to clear us out here.”
Georgia Forestry was conducting several prescribed burns in Walker County on Wednesday and Thursday, according to a post on Walker County social media pages. Cantrell said the prescribed fires in the north part of Alabama’s Talladega National Forest were also likely contributing to the smoke in Chattanooga.
Cantrell said wind was supposed to pick up around 11 a.m. Thursday, and hopefully, that would clear a bit of the smoke out.
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The National Park Service announced a prescribed fire at Chickamauga Battlefield on Thursday and Friday, according to a press release from the park service. Cantrell said he imagines at least a portion of that smoke will blow into the Chattanooga area and settle overnight since conditions are going to be calm again.
Contact breaking news reporter Kailee Shores at kshores@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6659.
