If you're thinking about celebrating the end of this week's hot temperatures with a fire in one of Ocean Beach's prison-looking fire pits, slow your roll, Sparky: Issues with Bay Area air quality means bonfires get the banhammer tonight.
According to a National Parks Service spokesperson, today's "Spare the Air alert is the first during the 2017 Ocean Beach recreational fire season. Rangers remind park visitors that fires are prohibited throughout Golden Gate National Recreation Area on Spare the Air alert days, including a prohibition on fires at Ocean Beach."
Bay City News reports that "Even though it’s still springtime, air district executive officer Jack Broadbent said that summer-like conditions will lead to hazy skies."
Broadbent had it right when he said "summer-like conditions," as the Chron reports that "Richmond and Napa broke heat records for the day on Tuesday by one degree. Richmond reached a high of 87 degrees breaking a record set in 2014. In Napa, temperatures reached a high of 94 degrees, topping a mark set for the day in 1966."
On Wednesday, temperatures in SF "are expected to reach anywhere from the mid to upper 70s."
National Weather Service forecaster Scott Rowe says that Wednesday's weather was the last bit of hot we'd see for a bit, as a “rolling cool down” is about to kick in. That means "a dramatic cooldown" beginning Thursday, with highs in the 60s. By Friday and the weekend, temperatures are expected to drop to the 50s.
“We are looking at the chance of low clouds and fog to return,” Rowe said of this weekend. “It’s the season.”
Related: NPS Touts New Fire Rings As Ocean Beach Bonfire Season Begins