Tracy's air quality impacted by warehouse fire, residents urged to stay inside

As the fire at a warehouse in Tracy continues to burn on Friday, officials are alerting residents to remain indoors and keep their windows closed as smoke could impact areas across the San Joaquin Valley.

The fire broke out at the Medline Industries warehouse on Promontory Parkway around 1 p.m. Thursday. The fire continued to burn through the night and into Friday morning, when Tracy's fire chief said it could take days for crews to fully extinguish it.

"So the air quality today, because of the weather — we're going to continue to have high winds and high temperatures and low humidity — so the air quality today is definitely not good," Tracy Fire Deputy Chief Brian Bagley said Friday morning during a press conference. 

Chemicals from the fire include respiratory irritants, toxic gases, carcinogens and at least one neurotoxin, according to the San Joaquin County Office of Emergency Services.

The Valley Air District said Friday afternoon that smoke moved over the valley overnight and mixed down towards the surface of the northern and central counties of the San Joaquin Valley.  Smoke coming from the fire will continue to push south along the western part of the valley.

Surface smoke will be possible across San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Merced, Madera, Fresno, Kings, Tulare counties, and the San Joaquin Valley portion of Kern County. 

"If you can see ash, smell smoke, you may be affected by fine particulate matter pollution," the Valley Air District said in an update Friday. 

This has the district encouraging people who live in the immediate area and in the downwind areas to remain indoors, keep windows and doors closed, and use air filtration. 

The air quality is expected to be impacted until the fire is extinguished, but it's unclear when that will be.

A reading by the Tracy Municipal Airport on Friday afternoon indicated moderate air quality, meaning unusually sensitive people should consider reducing their outdoor activity and going inside if they have symptoms. 

The area quality in Modesto and Madera has fluctuated between good and moderate through Friday morning and early afternoon. 

Officials said anyone who inhaled smoke and is experiencing a sudden onset of respiratory problems, headaches, dizziness, nausea, or throat irritation should report to the emergency room for treatment. 

The South San Joaquin County Fire Authority said several air monitoring stations were established in and around the facility. Bagley said the results from the air monitoring have not raised any immediate concerns that would require protective action as of Friday morning. 

"The best thing for the community is to kind of stay sheltered," Bagley said. "Stay away from the outdoors, especially if you're in and around the immediate Tracy area." 

The extent of what materials were inside the facility was not fully known on Friday, but officials confirmed there were hazardous materials inside, such as several hundred robots powered by lithium batteries that were used to load shelves. 

A hazardous materials team was reviewing a list of what was stored in the warehouse. 

The latest air quality reading can be viewed on AirNow's website.