Is anyone else dealing with/following the western wildfires? We aren't directly near any fires but the smoke is so thick across the region that I haven't been able to take the kids outside for a week. You can even smell it in the house on bad days.
Some articles on it:
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/08/24/3694516/western-wildfires-everything-is-still-terrible/
cantaloupe / 6059 posts
Yes. It's been so awful. We're a little bit closer to the fires than you are, I think, (based on which state I think you're in if I'm remembering correctly) and we haven't been able to go to the park really for a couple weeks now! It's been so bad. We even had ash falling into our yard last week for a few days.
It's gotten a bit better lately but not as much as I'd like. I hope that we get some rain here soon. The region needs it!
pomegranate / 3643 posts
@coopsmama: are you near the big one in WA? It's so sad. A few more popped up over the week in our region but none right on top of us. My ILs have a cabin that's been in the family almost 100 years and it's about 15mi away from a fire. So not too close but I guess you never know. We are in a valley though so the smoke tends to accumulate. It's at "very unhealthy" now, one step below hazardous. Which is such a misnomer though because even at moderate it makes me nauseous and headachy and the boys sneezy.
I'm kind of curious what other news have heard. My mom lives on the east coast and says she heard that there are a lot of fires. Every national news article I've read has been kind of the same: list of wildfires, discussion of forest service budget, maybe a mention of the WA firefighters. But nothing on the smoke! If other parts of the country had air so hazardous you couldn't go outside I think it would be major news!! But it seems like east coast news agencies are kind of like, "well, no one lives out there though, right?"
pomelo / 5628 posts
I'm in San Dieog so not affected right now. But we've had 3 sets of major fires very close to where I live and the smoke is really scary! I hope it clears up soon.
coconut / 8430 posts
The fires are about 100 miles away from us (as the crow flies) and we have gotten some smoke near us (by the time it reaches the city, it looks very hazy).
Since my state is so affected I've definitely heard personal stories from friends/friends of friends who have homes or cabins in the affected areas.
pear / 1547 posts
We're on the east coast now but all our family is in, and we're from, WA state so we're hearing a lot about it. ILs are in Eastern WA and the air quality just sounds horrible. Supposedly as bad as when Mt St Helens (volcano) erupted. I feel terrible for everyone struggling! Not to mention the firefighters - being a firefighter in the summer is not an uncommon thing for young adults in the area so everytime a death pops up on facebook my heart sinks.
nectarine / 2641 posts
Yep. Our air quality is now officially "hazardous", (for 8 hour cumulative exposure) the worst category there is. The valley I'm in collects smoke, so we usually hang on to it a bit longer than elsewhere. And there's a huge football game today. Should be interesting...
Poor LO asks to go outside every day. I tell him if we can see the mountain (it's about 4 miles away), we can, but we haven't seen it for about a week now.
kiwi / 696 posts
@jedeve: I'm in the same state as you, and our air quality just got upgraded to "very hazardous." So I'm limiting outside time to the time it takes to get to and from the car. We are actually about to head out to McDonald's so my preschooler can expend some energy:
pomelo / 5628 posts
@Jess1483: I would think they would cancel the game! They canceled all sport for at least a week during all of our fires.
nectarine / 2641 posts
@Mrs Green Grass: yeah, they won't. High school games are canceled, but this is too big. I can't imagine they'll cancel.
pear / 1632 posts
@jedeve: I'm in Idaho & there are wildfires all around us at this point. I surprisingly have had a few lucky days of somewhat smoke free air. It's been so bad for the last few weeks that all windows had to be shut and no going outside. We have a two large wildfires near us and some other smaller ones that are being contained but some high winds are coming along with a cold front so fingers crossed things don't get worse. Here's an update I just got in our area.
http://content.govdelivery.com/bulletins/gd/USDAFSNIFC-11704f9
Cool video of the fire planes. They've been noisy flying over my house but my lo loves watching all the planes and helicopters!
https://www.facebook.com/logrett/videos/10154184484488642/
hostess / wonderful apple seed / 16729 posts
I'm slightly south of Seattle and I've heard air quality is pretty bad out there. I'm stuck in the hospital so I haven't been affected. Now for my DH who has asthma, it has been brutal for him. He's taking extra meds to keep himself from being in the hospital, too.
I do feel so bad for the fire fighters we've lost so far. Plus, the people who have lost their homes. A few years ago, we took a road trip to Montana and on the way back saw a few wild fires. It was so scary seeing fire burn like that.
pomelo / 5621 posts
The smoke from the WA fires is put a haze over our city the last week, we are finally starting to see some blue sky.
We are hundreds of kms from the fire.
persimmon / 1363 posts
We have had hazardous air quality and haven't been outside other than for short trips in a week. I have a 4 month old so I have been cautious. We started off not being able to see the skyline, and now we can't even see the apartment buildings that are right down the street. Even in the car my eyes burn. We are north of the Washington/Idaho fires.
pineapple / 12234 posts
We're in the PNW so the fires aren't close but last week, we couldn't see our neighbors houses because the smoke was so thick. Luckily, we're getting rain this weekend and its also expected in Eastern WA. The high winds are scary though. My dad is working over in Eastern WA to help with the fire damage and they're expectng 70 mph winds so the dead trees are collapsing everywhere. Praying for everyone affected by the fires!! And for the brave firefighters who are working so hard!!
blogger / pear / 1509 posts
Ugh, yes we're in very far northern CA and have had really bad smoke for most of the month. I also live in a valley so once the smoke arrives it sticks around. There aren't any fires close to us this year at least. Last year we were surrounded. Last night, though, we had our first rainfall and the skies are clear today for the first time in a while. Unfortunately it's howling wind too! Can't get a break.
pomegranate / 3643 posts
@Jess1483: @OhCaptain: it's easier to take kids outside in the winter than this!! My youngest had diarrhea all week so we couldn't even go anywhere indoors. We actually are visiting family back east now and I'm so excite to let the boys play!!
@jh524: ugh! Do you have AC? we just got it installed because of fire season. Contributing to the problem of global warming, I know! But we just can't keep the windows open.
@Rockies11: it's the worst when you can't escape it indoors even.
@HLK208: I hope your dad stays safe!
@2farmmoms: yay for rain!@ALV91711: @bluestriped bee: my ILs were in Oregon on the coast and said they had smoke all the way out there too!
Curious is any east coast bees have heard about the smoke?@MenagerieMama: has I guess! I am curious what the coverage is when I'm out here.
nectarine / 2641 posts
@Mrs Green Grass: They did indeed play on, despite the air quality officially being hazardous. And I went (but only for half the game.)
@jedeve: I'm jealous you escaped, but it's raining today!! And air quality is back down to "moderate" for short-term (still very unhealthy long-term). And yes, winter is a lot easier. I was so excited to have a summer babe so we could get outside, and with the extreme heat last month, and the fires this month, it's worse than my older guy who was born in late November.
hostess / wonderful apple seed / 16729 posts
@HLK208: Hope your dad stays safe! Especially with the wind storms this weekend. We had a tree come down on our fence. Luckily, our landlord will fix it. This wind storm is nuts and its an inconveniece to us but nothing compared to the wild fires out east.
pear / 1547 posts
@jedeve: I've definitely heard more because of west coast family/friends, but I was at the dmv this week (only took me a year to change my license and registration, whoops!) and when the dmv lady saw my WA license said - isn't the whole state on fire??
pear / 1632 posts
@jedeve: no we don't have a.c so it's been hot but a cold front came in last night and brought wind and rain! Hoping they calm these fires down.
I have family & lots of local friends out at these fires and just praying they all return safe to their families!
| Today | Monthly Record | |
|---|---|---|
| Topics | 0 | 1 |
| Posts | 1 | 3 |
Ask for Help
Make a Suggestion
Frequently Asked Questions
Bee Levels
Acronyms
Most Viewed Posts
Hellobee Gold
Hellobee Recipes
Hellobee Features
Hellobee Contests
Baby-led Weaning
Bento Boxes
Breastfeeding
Newborn Essentials
Parties
Postpartum Care Essentials
Sensory Play Activities
Sleep Training
Starting Solids Gear
Transitioning to Toddler Bed
All Series
Who We Are
About the Bloggers
About the Hostesses
Contributing Bloggers
Apply to Blog
Apply to Hostess
Submit a Guest Blog
Hellobee Buttons
How We Make Money
Community Policies
- Google Plus
- Stumbleupon
- Twitter
- Facebook
- Pinterest
- Favorite0
20 comments