SCU Complex Fire: Weather conditions help fire containment near Livermore; air quality improves

LIVERMORE, Calif. (KGO) -- A Red Flag Warning is still in effect until 5 p.m. Monday afternoon, but that hasn't stopped fire crews from making good progress on the Alameda County side of the SCU Lightning Complex Fire.

Besides the fear of the fire itself, there has also been a serious issue with air quality.

The hills high above Livermore, near the Del Valle Regional Park are smokey, but mostly flame free it appears eight days into a fire that has scorched nearly 350,000 acres, across seven counties.

Favorable weather conditions are allowing fire crews to expand the containment lines that are currently at 10%, but things could change if the wind picks up.

"The temperature's high, the RH is low and we're increasing wind speed," explained CAL FIRE spokesman David Janssen. "With all those factors, it's very dangerous out there. You can have a small smoldering kick up and send embers and they were saying this morning at briefing, up to three-quarters of a mile away from where the fire line is."

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Perhaps the biggest concern for many residents in Livermore in recent days has been the terrible air quality.

RELATED: Bay Area air quality worst in the world as wildfires rage in all but one county

On Sunday, the air was so brown, it was considered dangerous even for healthy individuals.

Downtown today, things at least looked a lot better.

"I think the air quality is fine," said Pete Ahueo as he sat outside a local coffee shop. "I love the wind. I love this wind."

"The smoke has been much better today," said Livermore's Gary Orth, who recently moved to the Livermore area from Southern California. "It's really been quite good. I like it. It's just been the last couple of weeks and I'm hoping that this will not be an annual occurrence."

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