Ongoing fires across Riverside, Ventura and Santa Barbara counties have continued to impact air quality in the Los Angeles Basin and beyond, though conditions have improved for Friday. A Wednesday afternoon air quality advisory from the South Coast Air Quality Management District was in effect until Thursday at 10 p.m., and warned of potential smoke impact in the San Fernando Valley, Central Los Angeles and the Riverside area.
Since the warning, Friday morning forecasts signal improvements across the South Coast AQMD’s covered sites, projected to continue Saturday. All areas from the Inland Empire to the Santa Clarita Valley currently sit within the “Moderate” air quality index (AQI) range, except the Orange County coast and Saddleback Valley, inside the “Good” range of 50 AQI and under.
#AirQuality Forecast (Friday, May 22nd): https://t.co/szsyGAFunD🏖 Coastal: Good -to- Moderate🏙 LA: Moderate🌅 OC: Good -to- Moderate🌄 Inland Empire: Moderate🌴 Coachella Valley: ModerateView our Real Time #AQI Map: https://t.co/EK1NMTwUS5pic.twitter.com/yLPuE97aR4
— South Coast AQMD (@SouthCoastAQMD) May 22, 2026
On Thursday, no areas had under 50 AQI, and those closest to the Bain, Verona and Sandy fires went above 100, labeled unhealthy for sensitive groups. These three enduring fires have burned a minimum of 4,286 acres as of Friday, while the Santa Rosa Island Fire is officially the largest in Channel Islands history. The smoke from its 18,379 burned acres will be less likely to make it over the ocean, given weaker wind forecasts for the weekend…