Central Coast stores selling out of N95 masks amid smoky air

ORCUTT, Calif. - Masks have been flying off the shelves for months during the pandemic, but now with fire season, there's a greater demand for N95 masks.

Oak Knolls Hardware and Home Center said they've seen a major increase in N95 sales this week. Store owners said they sold out of all their supply for the face covering.

The store said it received dozens of calls Thursday, specifically asking if any N95 masks were in stock. They've also had several people walk in and ask for them.

The owners do expect to get more Friday.

"It's harder to get larger quantities, but we've had them pretty much every week," said Alyssa Honeycutt. She and her husband Ben recently purchased the store. "It's just that right now everyone swooped in.... With the smoke, right away they're gone."

Santa Maria's Lowe's and Home Depot also said they do not have any N95 masks in stock at their locations at the time of publication.

Hardware stores are also working around the pandemic heightening the demand. Oak Knolls said it has been hard for their supplier to get N95s because they are given to medical suppliers as a first priority during the pandemic.

Stephen Szabo, director of cardio-pulmonary services at Tenet Health Central Coast said a regular cloth mask will not protect you from smoke particles because those particles are very tiny.

He said if you do not have an N95 mask, the best way to protect yourself is to stay inside any time you smell smoke or see it in the air.