February 21, 2026 3:17 PM

Another Day of Wildfire Smoke in the Air on Tuesday

VICTOR VALLEY, CA. (Pain In The Pass) >> With two new fires started Monday and with the Gifford Fire continue to burn portions of San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara Counties that started on Friday. This is still creating smokey and hazy skies as well as unhealthy air quality across parts of the Inland Empire, Mountains towns, and the high desert cities.

The most impacted locations in terms of air quality are in parts of the Barstow area, and into parts of the Victor Valley area as widespread air quality alerts have been issued.

As of Monday, the air quality stations by the AQI Air Quality Index reported moderate air quality. Current smoke forecasts show smoke drifting into the area by Monday night into Tuesday and blowout in the afternoon. Tuesday morning smoke smell will be strong again.

So, if you notice hazy smokey skies again, it’s because of the wildfire smoke overhead.

If you have respiratory issues or sensitivity to poor air quality it’s best to keep an eye on the air quality, and limit exposure to the outdoors when unhealthy air quality is present.

Things that can help when you’re out and about with poor air quality is to re-circulate the air in your car, or at home re-circulate the air at your home.  Other tips are staying up to date on air quality conditions, avoiding strenuous activities, keeping windows closed, or using an air purifier.

The smoke is drifting from the 72,400+ acre Gifford Fire continues to burn in the portion of the Los Padres National Forest that’s in San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara Counties.

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Cajon Pass
3:17 pm, Feb 21, 2026
temperature icon 53°F
clear sky
Humidity: 27 %
Pressure: 1021 mb
Wind: 8 mph
Wind Gust: 3 mph
Clouds: 8%
Visibility: 10 km
Sunrise: 6:28 am
Sunset: 5:38 pm
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4:00 pm
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48°/53°°F 0 mm 0% 7 mph 27% 1021 mb 0 mm/h
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43°/50°°F 0 mm 0% 3 mph 33% 1022 mb 0 mm/h
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39°/44°°F 0 mm 0% 4 mph 39% 1024 mb 0 mm/h
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39°/39°°F 0 mm 0% 5 mph 44% 1026 mb 0 mm/h
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39°/39°°F 0 mm 0% 6 mph 46% 1026 mb 0 mm/h
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40°/40°°F 0 mm 0% 5 mph 46% 1026 mb 0 mm/h
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51°/51°°F 0 mm 0% 5 mph 29% 1026 mb 0 mm/h
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57°/57°°F 0 mm 0% 6 mph 26% 1024 mb 0 mm/h