{"id":243287,"date":"2026-04-23T14:17:14","date_gmt":"2026-04-23T14:17:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/243287\/"},"modified":"2026-04-23T14:17:14","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T14:17:14","slug":"air-quality-concerns-cause-at-least-one-jacksonville-school-to-cancel-outdoor-activities-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/243287\/","title":{"rendered":"Air quality concerns cause at least one Jacksonville school to cancel outdoor activities"},"content":{"rendered":"

JAKCOSNVILLE, Fla. \u2013 Smoke drifting from fast-moving brush fires burning miles away is impacting air quality across Duval County and surrounding areas<\/a>, prompting at least one local school to cancel outdoor activities and health officials to issue warnings.<\/p>\n

Parents at John E. Ford Pre K-8 School were notified that recess, physical education classes and other outdoor events were canceled due to smoky conditions on Wednesday. We\u2019ve reached out to the district to learn if other schools were also canceling outdoor activities, but did not immediately hear back.<\/p>\n

The smoke is largely coming from a major wildfire burning near the line between Clay County and Putnam County, where multiple fires have merged into what officials call the \u201cRailroad Fire.\u201d<\/a> The blaze has grown to more than 4,100 acres and remains 55% contained as crews continue to battle shifting conditions. <\/p>\n

MORE | Railroad Fire latest: Evacuations, closures, warnings & more as wildfire spreads in Clay, Putnam counties<\/a><\/p>\n

Additional smaller fires have also been reported across Northeast Florida, including in Nassau County and areas south toward St. Johns County, contributing to widespread smoke across the region. <\/p>\n

In total, more than 16,000 acres are burning across Northeast Florida and Southeast Georgia, fueled by extreme drought conditions and dry vegetation. <\/p>\n

RELATED | \u2018LEAVE NOW\u2019: New mandatory evacuations ordered in Brantley County as wildfire threatens homes; dozens already destroyed<\/a><\/p>\n

Officials say the effects of the fires extend well beyond the immediate burn zones. Smoke has been reported across Jacksonville, including near the Buckman Bridge, where hazy skies reduced visibility during morning commutes.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor our communities over the next couple of nights, that smoke will be most hazardous during the early morning and evening hours,\u201d said News4JAX Meteorologist Chris Holtzman.<\/p>\n

Health experts warn that the smoke contains fine particulate matter that can penetrate deep into the lungs. Dr. Sunil Joshi, the city\u2019s chief health officer, said air quality reached unhealthy levels in parts of Jacksonville.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re actually inhaling very fine particulate matter that can get all the way into your lungs,\u201d Joshi said. \u201cYou\u2019re also breathing in carbon monoxide and other compounds being released into the air.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said symptoms of overexposure may include headaches, nausea, fatigue, coughing, wheezing and chest tightness, as well as throat irritation and burning eyes.<\/p>\n

Meteorologists say calm morning winds can allow smoke to linger close to the ground, worsening conditions before dispersing later in the day as winds increase.<\/p>\n

Residents are encouraged to monitor local air quality using AirNow and to limit outdoor activities, particularly during early morning and evening hours when smoke concentrations tend to be highest. You can type your address into Airnow.gov<\/a> to get air quality reports from your neighborhood. <\/p>\n

Authorities emphasize that even without visible flames nearby, smoke alone can pose significant health risks.<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 by WJXT News4JAX – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"JAKCOSNVILLE, Fla. \u2013 Smoke drifting from fast-moving brush fires burning miles away is impacting air quality across Duval…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":242454,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[28,1853,116,118,117,221,10782],"class_list":["post-243287","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-jacksonville","tag-florida","tag-georgia","tag-jacksonville","tag-jacksonville-headlines","tag-jacksonville-news","tag-weather","tag-wildfires"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/243287","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=243287"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/243287\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/242454"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=243287"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=243287"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=243287"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}