Emergency Information

 

Friday, January 10 - 9:25 a.m.

The South Coast Air Quality Management District and the United States Environmental Protection Agency continuously monitor and measure local air quality through an Air Quality Index (AQI), updated hourly. 
 
The AQI on campus this morning is categorized as Unhealthy Air (an index of 150).
 
Older adults, children, teens, and individuals with heart or lung disease should take any of these steps to reduce your exposure:
 
  • Avoid strenuous outdoor activity
  • Keep outdoor activity short
  • Consider moving physical activities indoors or rescheduling them
  • Unusually sensitive individuals or those with respiratory conditions may require work accommodation
 
All other members of our campus community should take any of these steps to reduce your exposure:
 
  • Choose less strenuous activities (like walking instead of running) so you do not breathe as hard
  • Shorten the amount of time you are active outdoors
  • Be active outdoors when air quality is better
 
The following major wildfires are adversely affecting air quality in the Los Angeles Basin:
 
Eaton Fire - located north of Altadena / Pasadena and active within the Angeles National Forest
Palisades Fire – located along the Pacific Coast along Pacific Palisades community
Kenneth Fire – located in northwest Los Angeles / Ventura County border  
 
In addition, smoke and particulates from numerous fires popping up around Southern California are being atmospherically transported southwest and may impact our local air quality.
 
Particulate matter within smoke contains microscopic solids or liquid droplets so small that they may be inhaled, potentially causing serious respiratory problems. Very fine particulates less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter, also known as PM2.5, pose the highest health risk.
 
Campus staff working outdoors should be advised of the current unhealthy air quality and be offered N95 respirators for voluntary use. Using N95 respirators requires prior training. 
 
 
On campus, please keep windows and doors closed so that our heating and cooling systems can filter out contaminants as designed.
 
We will continue to monitor local air quality status and advise of any changes.