Smoke could be smelled in the air in some portions of the Coachella Valley as a result of increasing activity at the Line Fire burning some 45 miles west in the mountains north of Highland.The increased fire activity led the South Coast Air Quality Management District to issue a wildfire smoke advisory for a swath of Riverside and San Bernardino counties stretching west from the San Gorgonio Pass to Fontana and Ontario.
While the Coachella Valley is located just east of the advisory area, the smell of smoke and hazy air were observed in both Palm Springs and Cathedral City on Monday morning.
What is the air quality rating for the Coachella Valley?
As of 9:15 a.m., the air quality in most of the Coachella Valley, including Palm Springs and other western portions closest to the fire, was rated as “moderate” on South Coast AQMD’s online air quality map , which is updated on an hourly basis. The map shows the current air quality index, an indicator of how polluted the air is based on the presence of several major pollutants.