Alpine, CA (San Diego, Santee, Jamul: city hall, homes, living in)

[freedomdove]

Originally Posted by RosieSD

How often do you "drive through"?

That's a good question. Thanks for asking it. I wonder if it depends on which part of Alpine you're in. Are there industries located in this town?

[RosieSD]

Originally Posted by freedomdove

That's a good question. Thanks for asking it. I wonder if it depends on which part of Alpine you're in. Are there industries located in this town?

There are no major industries in Alpine. But, it is located at the end of an inland valley corridor that does get smog from time to time, mainly during the warmer months. But smog is usually only visibly noticeable in Alpine a few days a year. That's why I asked how often she "drives through" Alpine. I am in and out of Alpine several times every month, and don't really see a ton of smog there, except during the warmer months. But perhaps the poster lives or works in Alpine and is driving through there on a daily basis, so she would have more insight.

Of course, just because air pollution isn't visible, it doesn't mean it isn't present, and the 8 corridor where Alpine is located is known to have some air quality issues compared to the rest of the county. The pollution comes in from the coast and can be sort of funneled up that valley when it is warm and the winds are blowing. But it is nothing like the 10 corridor in LA/Riverside, where you really notice the smog on a regular basis.

You're also correct that some areas of Alpine will probably have better air quality than others --- it is a fairly spread out area. My hunch is the areas closest to the busy 8 freeway will have the worst of it.

If you're curious, you can get a quick overview of current conditions from the San Diego Air Pollution Control District here: http://sd.sdapcd.org/Airvision/ We're having unseasonably warm weather right now, and air quality in Alpine is still in the "moderate" range.

You can also get a map showing how air quality changes during the day here:
http://airquality.sdapcd.org/air/maps/aqi_animate.html

Alpine is east of El Cajon on the 8.

And if you want to look at where you currently live for comparison, which I highly recommend, the EPA has a lot of local maps here: https://www3.epa.gov/airdata/

[JohnAlt]

Originally Posted by Sassberto

The nice thing is you have shopping right in town, you don't have to go into El Cajon or Lakeside.

The Lakeside Walmart is the nearest large discounter. Alpine has an Albertsons and a Rite Aid but not much else.

[RosieSD]

Originally Posted by JohnAlt

The Lakeside Walmart is the nearest large discounter. Alpine has an Albertsons and a Rite Aid but not much else.

Well, they do also have the Viejas Casino outlet stores. But I agree. No one would probably ever call Alpine a shopper's paradise.

[NYSD1995]

Compared to San Diego or El Cajon it's pretty lean but they do have a complete stripmall with all typical amenities, fast food, gas stations, in Alpine, none of the other towns have it, that is where you go if you live in Julian or Dulzura.

[RosieSD]

Originally Posted by Sassberto

Compared to San Diego or El Cajon it's pretty lean but they do have a complete stripmall with all typical amenities, fast food, gas stations, in Alpine, none of the other towns have it, that is where you go if you live in Julian or Dulzura.

Do you mean Dehesa or perhaps Descanso?

Dulzura is south of where I live (Jamul), along the 94 corridor. We shop in Rancho San Diego out our way, not Alpine. But, you're right, now that Alpine has the Albertson's shopping center, they are a lot better situated for shopping than they used to be. I don't know how people in places like Campo and further east manage without a large supermarket. But I guess they must stop off in Alpine too.

[freedomdove]

Thanks for the info, guys, and thank you for the links, Rosie.

[trs27]

Freedomdove just to let you know, the very worst of the smog is right at Manzanita View at about the 2000ft clip It is right smack in the middle of the inversion layer, and you are surrounded by hills which traps everything. As you head up much further in elevation the air quality usually improves.

[freedomdove]

Originally Posted by trs27

Freedomdove just to let you know, the very worst of the smog is right at Manzanita View at about the 2000ft clip It is right smack in the middle of the inversion layer, and you are surrounded by hills which traps everything. As you head up much further in elevation the air quality usually improves.

Thank you.

~~~

So, what about lower elevations in that area? I bought a California map that shows the elevation of many places. It has Alpine itself at 1880, Alpine Heights at 1873, and The Willows at 2220. Jamul sits at 993ft. Is it more polluted at lower elevation or is it just that middle ground (@ 2000ft) that it's the smoggiest?

Also, I'm not sure I understand why there's so much pollution down the 8 corridor. I thought CA was really strict on car pollution. I also didn't think San Diego was a hub of industry like you'd see in the Midwest. Where is the smog coming from? Is some of it natural (like fog)?

[RosieSD]

Originally Posted by freedomdove

Thank you.

~~~

So, what about lower elevations in that area? I bought a California map that shows the elevation of many places. It has Alpine itself at 1880, Alpine Heights at 1873, and The Willows at 2220. Jamul sits at 993ft. Is it more polluted at lower elevation or is it just that middle ground (@ 2000ft) that it's the smoggiest?

The areas you're talking about are very spread out with lots of big hills and mountains -- these are NOT flat areas. What you are seeing on typographical maps is just a single point with the name of the unincorporated area. Because the terrain is so hilly and varied here, just a short distance can make a huge change in elevation. For instance, I live in Jamul, and I'm at 2800 foot elevation. Yet, a mile in either direction of my house and you can be at 3200 feet or 2000 feet. Alpine is similar in having a very varied terrain over a fairly spread out and mountainous area.

You really need to come see the area to understand what it is like. The east county area is very varied and the only way to understand is to see it in person.

Originally Posted by freedomdove

Also, I'm not sure I understand why there's so much pollution down the 8 corridor. I thought CA was really strict on car pollution. I also didn't think San Diego was a hub of industry like you'd see in the Midwest. Where is the smog coming from? Is some of it natural (like fog)?

Again, some of the air quality issues along the 8 corridor are due to the terrain. The 8 runs initially along a big valley near the coast. The valley is surrounded by hills and mountains to the east. So, coastal breezes push air into that valley corridor and it bumps up against the mountains and sort of just sits, so air quality can be worse there. Alpine is at the end of that corridor, where it starts to rise up into the mountains, so the "bad air" tends to concentrate there sometimes. It's generally hotter along the lower elevations of that corridor, and that can worsen air quality in those areas during the summer too, because it creates an inversion that further traps any pollution in the pockets. Hope that makes sense.

San Diego gets air pollution in a lot of ways. First, we don't have much public transportation and people often commute long distances to work. So we have a lot of cars and trucks on the roads, especially major freeways like the 8. Yes, California has air pollution laws for vehicles, but that hasn't eliminated the problem in major metros like LA and San Diego.

In San Diego, we also get a lot of smog from Mexico. If you look at the air quality maps, you'll notice that the worst areas of the county for air quality are often right along the border near Tijuana. We also get some air pollution from from the LA/Riverside areas. Increasingly, I suspect we are also getting air pollution coming in from the east (Imperial Valley), especially in the eastern edges of the county. This will likely get worse as the Salton Sea dries up and water issues in the IV reduce agriculture there.

All that said, air quality in San Diego County is not really a major concern most of the time. Generally, most of the county has "good" to "moderate" air quality levels, even in areas like Alpine.

The hotter months are usually when air quality here is the worst. Air quality also tends to worsen when there are large wild fires burning in the county or just north or south of us. Our Santa Ana winds can also really kick up dust from the desert and affect air quality in certain months.