We're still socked in with forest fire smoke, as we have been for over a week now. It's claimed that it may begin to dissipate starting tomorrow, although some of the folks who examine the stuff seem to disagree:
People in Oregon, Washington state and California have been struggling for a week or longer under some of the most unhealthy air on the planet. The acrid yellow-green smog may linger for days or weeks, scientists and forecasters said.
It doesn't seem to me as though we'll get a break from it until the rains start up.
The hazy air closed businesses like Whole Foods and the iconic Powell’s Books in Portland and suspended garbage pickup in some communities. Pollution and fire evacuations canceled online school and closed some college campuses in Oregon. “It is so bad that you can likely smell (smoke) inside your house,” said Sarah Present, the health officer for Clackamas, Multnomah and Washington counties. “In some areas, the air quality is so hazardous it is off the charts of the EPA’s rating scale.”
The region has had a significant increase in visits to emergency rooms due to air quality, officials said Tuesday.
Places like the Oregon Convention Center in downtown Portland are being used as shelters for people who need a dose of healthy air. Typically during wildfires, people can escape to other areas of the state to breathe easy, said Dylan Darling, a spokesman for the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality. “That’s what’s standing out — there just isn’t a place in Oregon right now to find fresh air,” Darling said. The level of pollution lingering for so long and so widely “really stands out in the state’s history,” he said.
“Labor Day morning things were kind of beautiful. We had clear skies, it was blue, the air quality was nice and good,” Lane Regional Air Protection Agency public affairs manager Travis Knudsen said. But by around 6 or 7 p.m. it had dropped to very unhealthy. The next morning it was considered hazardous.
This is the first time his agency has opted not to advise people to escape the bad air; that’s because the entire state has been engulfed by air that ranges in quality from unhealthy to hazardous air. “Our recommendation to people is to stay home and limit their exposure outdoors as much as possible. Close all the windows, close all the doors, look for any cracks or leaks in your home that could be letting outdoor air in and close them up as much as possible,” Knudson said.
Some folks aren't following the advice; somebody evidently walked up my driveway to the house yesterday and stole my yard debris bin. Must've been desperate. When I called to ask for a replacement, the lady at Waste Management was as amazed as me. it must be admitted - that's a weird one.
