Wildfire smoke from the Camp Fire in northern California brought widespread unhealthy air quality to the Central Coast and the Bay Area through late November. A persistent upper ridge over the eastern Pacific kept conditions fairly stagnant with light offshore winds ushering in smoke to the area.
Every event with a place to put it; 8 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
The episode as NWS MTR wrote it up.
Wildfire smoke from the Camp Fire in northern California brought widespread unhealthy air quality to the Central Coast and the Bay Area through late November. A persistent upper ridge over the eastern Pacific kept conditions fairly stagnant with light offshore winds ushering in smoke to the area. It was not until an upper trough brought a fresh air mass and precipitation that conditions returned to normal on November 21st. The poor air quality resulted in multiple events across the region being canceled, delays at major airports, and numerous closures of schools as well as places of employment.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
8 dense smoke. Local standard time, as filed.
Livermore ASOS reports 3/4 mile visibility. Wildfire smoke prompts closing of Lawrence Livermore Lab.
Poor air quality from wildfire smoke caused San Jose State University to cancel classes https://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/news/2018/11/15/bay-area-camp-fire-smoke-business-impact-closures.html.
Very unhealthy air quality from wildfire smoke forces school and university closures as well as businesses, including pulling San Francisco's cable cars off the hills https://www.sfchronicle.com/california-wildfires/article/Smoke-still-plagues-Bay-Area-skies-a-week-after-13394932.php.
Wildfire smoke prompts school closures in San Francisco https://abc7news.com/bay-area-schools-close-due-to-poor-air-quality-caused-by-smoke-from-camp-fire/4697038/.
Wildfire smoke prompts school closures in Alameda and Contra Costa Counties https://www.newsweek.com/san-francisco-wildfire-smoke-forecast-public-schools-closing-air-quality-poor-1218443.
Wildfire smoke prompts school closures in Oakland and San Mateo https://www.apnews.com/e0082d079001472b8e9c223dc384ac88, https://www.newsweek.com/san-francisco-wildfire-smoke-forecast-public-schools-closing-air-quality-poor-1218443.
Wildfire smoke forces school closures in Marin County https://www.newsweek.com/san-francisco-wildfire-smoke-forecast-public-schools-closing-air-quality-poor-1218443.
Wildfire smoke forces school closures in Napa https://www.newsweek.com/san-francisco-wildfire-smoke-forecast-public-schools-closing-air-quality-poor-1218443.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in California in 2018Every state in 2018This day in weather historyWarnings in California, November 2018
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 788376, 788393, 788387, 788380, 788381, 788382, 788383, 788384.