Bay Area under another Spare the Air order, air quality improving in East Bay

While air quality in the East Bay area appears to be improving, officials say there's still smoke in the air and residents should be careful.

ALAMO, Calif. (KGO) -- It's another Spare the Air day in the Bay Area. A lot of Bay Area residents were surprised to find it hard to see and breathe on Thursday and then woke up to much the same on Friday.

The South Bay is still in the danger zone, although the East Bay is getting better.
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VIDEO: Wildfire smoke turns Bay Area skies dark, murky

VIDEO: Wildfire smoke turns Bay Area skies dark, murky

The Kippers were relieved when they saw Friday's skies and decided to head out on their morning walk. "We looked out and weren't sure if it was fog or smoke, it wasn't too bad. Sooner the better to get it over with," Alamo resident Bob Kipper said.

They didn't want to wait in case the afternoon looks like it did Thursday - orange and hazy. Julie arrived home at night from a trip and instantly noticed it.

"I flew into it, you could see this big layer of dark, icky looking stuff and that was last night about 7:30, 8...so yeah, it looked pretty ugly," Julie Kipper said.

RELATED: East Bay bathed in smoke-driven smog

"I skipped a bike ride, blew in around noon and it reminded me of my trip to China," said Bob. "That's my scale of measuring air. It was pretty rough."

Friday morning's air may look better but there's still a mix of smoke and fog. That smoke is something you want to avoid if you can.

"Avoid any outdoor activities, especially if you suffer from a respiratory condition or are a child and an elderly person," said Bay Area Air Quality District's Sarah Zahedi.

Area high schools haven't made a decision about football games Friday night.

Get the latest weather updates here and recent stories and videos about the California wildfires here.

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