The West is on fire

[apl68]

The photographs that have been in the news of smoky air even miles from the nearest fire are just unreal.  I saw a report this morning of a motorist passing out on the Golden Gate Bridge.

Meanwhile Sally is predicted to bring "historic flooding" to parts of the southeast tomorrow.

[Parasaurolophus]

Today, I can sort of see the water and the shoreline, but no mountains. We'll see if it lasts.

[Wahoo Redux]

I'm from that part of the world originally.

I am thinking of all the people and of all of you, but it also kills me to think of the forests.

Praying for the rainy season to start.

[wellfleet]

There's a https://www2.purpleair.com/ sensor just up the road from my house that's been reading between 150-180 all week. When fires were a lot closer, it was higher than that. We get a lot of fog here, and now we've got smoke mixing with the marine layer, which is  . . . weird.

[FishProf]

My parents are reporting Smoke from the California fires.

They are in Montana

[Parasaurolophus]

My parents are reporting Smoke from the California fires.

They are in Montana

Could be Oregon or Washington too, though. Looks like the smoke extends as far as the east coast now.

[Larimar]

My parents are reporting Smoke from the California fires.

They are in Montana

Yeah, the smoke is spreading mind-bogglingly far. My mother said last week that she could sometimes see the smoke in the air from the fires, and her area has had dangerously bad air quality.

She is in northern Colorado.

I've also seen online NASA photos showing that the smoke cloud can be seen from space.

Larimar

[Parasaurolophus]

I can see the outline of the mountains now.

But my parents on the east coast say their sun is hazy.

[Parasaurolophus]

The view is clearer today (I could see the sun earlier, can see the water, and the outline of the mainland and the mountains). But the air quality is about the same.

[wellfleet]

Our AQI numbers plummeted into the green zone yesterday afternoon and fresh air has rarely smelled so good! I'm right by the water, so this has more to do with the direction of the prevailing winds than the lack of fires within 300 miles, but I'll take it.

[larryc]

I am in Spokane in eastern Washington. Last week we had a day of 50-60 mph winds and fires blew up across the state. Two tiny towns to the south, Malden (pop. 200) and Pine City (100) burned almost completely, with nearly every building burned. My wife and I drove through them today, it was awful.

We had about a week of unbreathable air, with air quality as bad as over 500. When it first began I bought a bunch of furnace filters and box fans and made some DIY air filters. I took one to an older colleague. They worked really well.

This was about our fourth smoke season in the last five years, and the worst one yet. When the stores have box fans and furnace filters back in stock I am going to get some more and keep them handy.

[Parasaurolophus]

Things are good today, and were yesterday, too. Whew.

[apl68]

I just read Fire In Paradise, by Alastair Gee.  It's an account of the 2018 Camp Fire disaster.  Disasters like this used to happen only once in a generation.