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Bay Area residents woke to a strong, sickening smell of smoke inside their homes Friday morning as thick, sooty air from the Camp Fire near Chico poured into the region.

Meteorologists forecast the eye-stinging smoke will linger through the weekend as winds push the polluted air into the region

ALSO READ: Paradise lost: Before-and-after photos show a town devoured by a raging wildfire

"It appears we're going to continue to have northwesterly and northeasterly winds. Any relief is going to be minimal," says Carolina Walbrun, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service Bay Area. "As the fire continues to burn, the winds are going to continue to push that smoke aloft over San Francisco and the Bay Area."Air quality levels were "unhealthy" in numerous locations early Friday including San Francisco, San Rafael, Richmond, Alameda and Livermore, according to the Air Now map managed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

"We are seeing very elevated levels of particulate pollution throughout the region, especially in the North and East Bay but also parts of the Peninsula and San Francisco," said Kristine Roselius, a spokesperson with the Bay Area Air Quality Management District.

Roselius says meteorologists with the district are predicting the smoke will persist through the weekend, with air quality levels fluctuating suddenly.

"Wildfire smoke can be very unpredictable. Sometimes it can be aloft and then suddenly drop down," she says. "If you smell smoke, you should stay inside."

The most polluted air was in the North Bay and Sonoma County schools closed and Santa Rosa Junior College cancelled classes.

"I'm a building contractor in Sonoma County working where the Tubbs Fire started last year near Calistoga," says Rick Sundberg. "Today the smoke is so thick there we had to cancel work due to air quality."

Many received special alerts on their phones early in the morning advising them to limit outdoor activities, and schools announced they'll keep kids inside at recess. San Francisco Unified School District delivered a robocall alerting parents students' absences will be excused if they stay home today.

MORE: Desperate search for the missing after fire sweeps through Paradise

The Camp Fire ignited and quickly exploded out of control Thursday morning, and by afternoon the Bay Area was bathed in an eerie brownish-orangish glow. Many residents reported the smoke was stinging their eyes and hurting their throats. Parents kept their children indoors.

It's not unusual for smoke from wildfires hundreds of miles away to reach the Bay Area, but with this one, the pollution reached the region in only six hours.

Looking from San Francisco across to the East Bay Thursday afternoon, the hills and Mount Diablo were obscured by the brown haze.

"The Bay is not visible now," Christine Virdee shared in an email to SFGATE written from the top of Mount Tamalpais. "It's just white."

ALSO: Strange thing fell from the sky when Chico resident went to look at smoke from Camp Fire

The Camp Fire is becoming known for its fast-moving pace, blackening more than 70,000 acres in less than 24 hours. The fire started Thursday morning at 6:30 a.m. and within three hours had spread across 5,000 acres. By Friday morning, the raging inferno had torn through most of the town of Paradise, burning hundreds of buildings.

The Butte County Sheriff's Department reports there have been deaths in the fire, but they have yet to release a number.

More than 40,000 people have evacuated and Thursday night parts of east Chico were ordered to evacuate.

The Bay Area Air Quality Management District has issued an air quality advisory for Friday and suggests people stay indoors and close windows if they smell smoke. Elderly persons, children and individuals with respiratory illnesses should take extra precautions to avoid exposure.