See smoke in the air? Nearby wildfires creating air quality concerns in the Valley
PHOENIX (FOX 10) -- People in the Valley are noticing smoke in the area, as smoke from nearby wildfires has been drifting down into the Valley over the past 24 hours.
It's not just firefighters who are keeping an eye on the fires, but meteorologists. They say, it may seem like all the smoke from the fires have cleared out on Monday afternoon from the Valley, but more smoke is expected to drift into the Valley by Tuesday morning.
On Monday, drivers coming in from Anthem noticed the smoke from the wildfires burning nearby.
"It looks kind of hazy is all. I could tell there's a fire," said one driver.
Just northeast of the Valley, the Mountain Fire is burning between Cave Creek and Bartlett Lake. Meanwhile, the Woodbury Fire is burning northwest of Superior. Matt Pace with the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality said residents shouldn't be too concerned, but there is more to come.
"You may have just smelled a little bit of that smoke, but it's not approaching the health standard at the moment," said Pace. "We don't expect it to, but we are still expecting to see that haze for tomorrow."
There are areas to keep an eye on Tuesday morning.
"If you live in Fountain Hills, Cave Creek, Apache Junction, even east side of Mesa, Gold Canyon, you might smell a little bit of that smoke because it starts to drain in the valley overnight," said Pace.
There is also a High Ozone Pollution advisory that is expected to extend through Wednesday, but that is unrelated to the fire. With there, there are now two air pollutants in the Valley.
Drivers, meanwhile, are saying they plan on avoiding the outdoors.
"We'll be heading back that way to be mostly inside," said one driver.
Experts said that is exactly what people should do, especially those who are sensitive to smoke and ozone pollution.
Officials with the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality said currently, the air quality may not be so great, but compared to the same time in 2018, the Valley has had better air overall. In 2019, officials are reporting that the ozone levels exceeded air quality standards 5 times, compared to 16 times in 2018.