NORTH CAROLINA - State air quality officials say smoke from a wildfire in eastern North Carolina is no longer generating elevated concentrations of air pollution, thanks to firefighting efforts and heavy rainfall during the weekend.

For the past seven days, monitors had detected elevated concentrations of particle pollution in parts of eastern North Carolina due to smoke from the Dad Fire, which began June 17 in the Croatan National Forest. Smoke from wildfires can create extremely small particles and liquid droplets that can be harmful to breathe and contribute to haze and other air quality problems.

SALISBURY - From Catawba College:

The results of last summer’s Piedmont Carolina air monitoring study will be the focus of a presentation at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, January 19, at the Center for the Environment facility on the Catawba College campus in Salisbury.

The study was a joint venture of Davidson College’s Dr. Cindy Hauser and the Center for the Environment.

The research confirmed that ozone levels in the backyards of citizens in Rowan, Cabarrus, Iredell, Davidson, Mecklenburg and Gaston counties in North Carolina and York County in South Carolina are comparable. Only Rowan and Mecklenburg currently have N.C. Division of Air Quality ozone monitors, and their ozone levels do not meet EPA standards.

In fact, the Charlotte- Salisbury-Gastonia metropolitan area ranks 10th worst for ozone pollution in the nation, according to the American Lung Association.