RENO, Nev. — The skies over the Reno-Sparks area have been shrouded in smoke and haze in recent days, attributed to several lightning-induced wildfires, including the Garnet Fire in Sequoia National Forest and the TCU Lightning Complex northeast of Modesto.
Ben McMullen, an air quality specialist with NNPH, said, “We’re expecting moderate PM2.5 AQ today and potentially tomorrow.” He noted that smoke from the lightning complex fire northeast of Modesto is expected to enter the valley around 4 p.m. and linger overnight, possibly into the morning.
Smoke can also include gaseous pollutants that can combine to form ozone. So combustion often has a large portion of nitrogen dioxide, which combines with other particles in the air to create ozone…