Petaluma, Sonoma County Air Quality Worst In Bay Area: Map

PETALUMA, CA — Although smoke permeated the air Wednesday in Petaluma, there were no local fires burning. Wildfires in Northern California, Oregon and Washington will keep the Bay Area under an air quality advisory for smoke through Thursday.

Wednesday, the worst air quality in the Bay Area — and quite possibly the country— was in the North Bay, a map provided by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District showed. In Petaluma, the air quality index reached 159 in some areas. An AQI above 150 is in the red and is considered unhealthy — meaning residents should keep their outdoor activities light and short, and go indoors if they have symptoms. Sensitive groups, which are people with heart or lung disease, older adults, children, pregnant women and people who spend a lot of time outdoors; should consider moving all activities indoors.

Furthermore, the interior North Bay mountains, including parts of eastern Sonoma County and especially far eastern Napa County, remained under a red flag warning through 8 p.m. Wednesday. Wind gusts could reach 35-40 mph in the higher terrain. Combined with low humidity of 13-20 percent, it will create conditions conducive for rapid fire spread, forecasters said.

• RELATED: Wildfire Smoke Blankets Bay Area, Tanking Air Quality

Although there were no watches or warnings in effect Wednesday afternoon for Petaluma, the smoky conditions were expected to continue through Thursday, according to the National Weather Service.

Here is the forecast through Labor Day for Petaluma.

Wednesday Afternoon
Widespread haze between 4pm and 5pm. Areas of smoke before 4pm, then areas of smoke after 5pm. Sunny, with a high near 93. West wind 8 to 11 mph.

Wednesday Night
Widespread haze before 8pm, then widespread haze after 3am. Clear, with a low around 55. West wind 6 to 11 mph becoming light west southwest after midnight.

Thursday
Widespread haze before 4pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 86. Light west southwest wind increasing to 8 to 13 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 20 mph.

Thursday Night
Partly cloudy, with a low around 57. West wind 10 to 14 mph, with gusts as high as 22 mph.

Friday
Partly sunny, with a high near 73. West southwest wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 22 mph.

Friday Night
Mostly cloudy, with a low around 57.

Saturday
Patchy fog before 10am. Otherwise, partly sunny, with a high near 74.

Saturday Night
Patchy fog after midnight. Otherwise, partly cloudy, with a low around 55.

Sunday
Areas of fog before 10am. Otherwise, mostly sunny, with a high near 78.

Sunday Night
Patchy fog after 4am. Otherwise, mostly clear, with a low around 54.

Labor Day
Patchy fog. Otherwise, sunny, with a high near 82.

Monday Night
Mostly clear, with a low around 54.

Tuesday
Sunny, with a high near 84.