Very unhealthy air due to N. Calif. wildfires

[Muse]

It's being blown right into the SF Bay Area where I live (Berkeley, is where I live). It wouldn't be bothering me so much if I didn't come down with a cough ~9 days ago that mysteriously wouldn't go away. That cough isn't terrible, however it morphed into a head cold. That cold isn't too bad but I'm having a tough time kicking it.

I went outdoors late Thursday for an hour doing some yardwork unaware that there was a gigantic wildfire to the north whose smoke was blowing right over me. My cough worsened! Since then, I'm trying to stay indoors as much as possible, which is what they say to do.

On the newscast last night they hammered on the idea that going outside with an N95 dust mask gives a sense of false security and you should actually remain indoors as much as possible. I'm thinking to myself: Huh? I might be breathing less fine particulate matter from the fires wearing an N95 dust mask outdoors than I am inside without a dust mask!

My house was built in 1910, the windows are shut but this place is far from air tight. In fact, there's a fireplace and the chimney is open. I have no way of closing it off. I figure if the particulate particle index is 150 (100 is considered bad), I suppose in the house it's gotta be not good. Should I wear a dust mask in the house!!! I've got several, ordered them a year ago during the fire catastrophe north of me.

 

[Muse]

My Spare the Air report received yesterday afternoon:
---> I don't really know which zone I'm in in Berkeley, comments???? <---
- - - -
Subject: Air Quality Forecast for SF Bay Area
From: Spare the Air <enviroflash@sonomatech.com>
Date: 9 Nov 2018 14:28:28 -0800

Forecast for SF Bay Area Coast and Central Bay, CA

Friday, Nov 9: 124 AQI Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups Particle Pollution (2.5 microns)
Saturday, Nov 10: 149 AQI Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups Particle Pollution (2.5 microns)
Sunday, Nov 11: Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups Particle Pollution (2.5 microns)
Monday, Nov 12: Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups Particle Pollution (2.5 microns)
Tuesday, Nov 13: Moderate Particle Pollution (2.5 microns)
Wednesday, Nov 14: Moderate Particle Pollution (2.5 microns)

Forecast for SF Bay Area Northern Zone, CA

Friday, Nov 9: 152 AQI Unhealthy PM2.5
Saturday, Nov 10: 153 AQI Unhealthy PM2.5
Sunday, Nov 11: Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups PM2.5
Monday, Nov 12: Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups PM2.5
Tuesday, Nov 13: Moderate PM2.5
Wednesday, Nov 14: Moderate PM2.5

Forecast for SF Bay Area South Central Bay, CA

Friday, Nov 9: 107 AQI Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups PM2.5
Saturday, Nov 10: 124 AQI Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups PM2.5
Sunday, Nov 11: Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups PM2.5
Monday, Nov 12: Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups PM2.5
Tuesday, Nov 13: Moderate PM2.5
Wednesday, Nov 14: Moderate PM2.5

Forecast for SF Bay Area Santa Clara Valley, CA

Friday, Nov 9: 110 AQI Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups PM2.5
Saturday, Nov 10: 134 AQI Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups PM2.5
Sunday, Nov 11: Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups PM2.5
Monday, Nov 12: Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups PM2.5
Tuesday, Nov 13: Moderate PM2.5
Wednesday, Nov 14: Moderate PM2.5

Forecast for SF Bay Area Eastern Zone, CA

Friday, Nov 9: 105 AQI Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups PM2.5
Saturday, Nov 10: 151 AQI Unhealthy PM2.5
Sunday, Nov 11: Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups PM2.5
Monday, Nov 12: Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups PM2.5
Tuesday, Nov 13: Moderate PM2.5
Wednesday, Nov 14: Moderate PM2.5




This forecast was issued by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District for the San Francisco Bay Area.
Visit http://www.sparetheair.org for a description of the SF Bay Area reporting zones, an explanation of the color-coded Air Quality Index (AQI), current readings, ozone movies, and additional air quality information.

 

[Muse]

I received this about an hour before the message in the previous post from Spare the Air yesterday afternoon:
- - - -
A Winter Spare the Air Alert has been issued from Friday, November 9, through Monday, November 12, in the Bay Area.

Wood burning is banned both indoors and outdoors during this alert.

Air quality in the Bay Area is forecast to be unhealthy. It is illegal for Bay Area residents to burn wood or other solid fuels in fireplaces, wood stoves and inserts, pellet stoves, outdoor fire-pits, or other wood-burning devices. This wood-burning ban will be in effect for Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, southern Sonoma and southwestern Solano Counties. (Visit www.sparetheair.org/Stay-Informed/Todays-Air-Quality/Reporting-Zones.aspx to see if your city is located within the Air District.)

Winter air pollution is mainly caused by particulates or soot pollution from wood smoke. Smoke from wood-burning fires is linked to illnesses such as asthma, bronchitis and lung disease, and is especially harmful for children and the elderly.

For more information about the Wood Burning Rule, or to check before you burn, visit www.sparetheair.org or call 1-877-4NO-BURN.

You can also call 1-800-430-1515 and register to receive automatic phone calls when a Winter Spare the Air Alert has been called.

To sign up for text alerts, text the word “START” to 817-57.

To see the current air quality forecast visit www.sparetheair.org.

Download our FREE Spare the Air iPhone/Android application for alert notifications, local air quality forecasts, podcasts and several tools to help reduce air pollution.

Thank you for doing your part to Spare the Air!

 

[deadlyapp]

Particulates in the air are constant due to wind, thermals, etc. Once you still the air, you get a lot less shit in in. That's why staying indoors even without a mask is preferable to outside with a mask. Even if your house isn't fully sealed, you'll probably have less drafts and air flow within the house to bring in the particulates. If you're really worried, throw a blanket or something over your fireplace entry or go get yourself an air purifier and run it inside the house.

Anyways, Berkeley would be considered East Bay (obviously?) and the air isn't great but it also isn't deathly.

 

[Muse]

Particulates in the air are constant due to wind, thermals, etc. Once you still the air, you get a lot less shit in in. That's why staying indoors even without a mask is preferable to outside with a mask. Even if your house isn't fully sealed, you'll probably have less drafts and air flow within the house to bring in the particulates. If you're really worried, throw a blanket or something over your fireplace entry or go get yourself an air purifier and run it inside the house.

Anyways, Berkeley would be considered East Bay (obviously?) and the air isn't great but it also isn't deathly.

Over the weekend I wore an N95 dust mask part of the time in the house. Stayed in the house basically all the time. Last night I woke up and was coughing for ~10 minutes and I put on the dust mask for the rest of the night. I think it might have helped, at least I wasn't really coughing. Lucky I bought those masks last year. TBH, I'm thinking having some of those on-hand is becoming a requirement if you live in CA.

 

[ArchAngel777]

I'll be flying out to Los Angeles area on Wednesday. The place I was scheduled to go too initially is under evacuation from the Woolsey fire. Pretty crazy... I am guessing the air quality, which isn't great already, is going to be complete crap. I'll likely be all around LA though, so it will be interesting to see what the air quality will be. From what I understand, the winds don't blow east, so maybe it doesn't impact LA much, I mean aside from where the fires are.

 

[Muse]

I'll be flying out to Los Angeles area on Wednesday. The place I was scheduled to go too initially is under evacuation from the Woolsey fire. Pretty crazy... I am guessing the air quality, which isn't great already, is going to be complete crap. I'll likely be all around LA though, so it will be interesting to see what the air quality will be. From what I understand, the winds don't blow east, so maybe it doesn't impact LA much, I mean aside from where the fires are.

I grew up in LA. The prevailing winds are from the west, but the conditions that cause the worst fire danger are when the winds are from the E or NE, which is what they've been having. Those winds are very dry as opposed to ocean are, which typically has humidity over 50%. They call them Santa Ana winds because Santa Ana is to the east of L.A. Around here (400 mi. north) they call them Diablo winds, I suppose because Mount Diablo is NE. Maybe not. Anyway, wind directions are variable. As soon as they start coming out of the west again, the air where I am will clear up real quick, but it won't be for at least a day or two, maybe more. As long as Santa Ana winds are blowing over L.A. the smoke will blow over the ocean, but if they change, it would blow Woolsey fire smoke over the city and suburbs until the fire has some containment. This is my thinking.

 

[Muse]

Here's a couple sites I'm going to for air index. I'm sure you can redirect them to L.A.

https://aqicn.org/city/california/alameda/oakland-west/

https://www.wunderground.com/us/ca/oakland/health?hdf=1

 

[Muse]

I'll be flying out to Los Angeles area on Wednesday. The place I was scheduled to go too initially is under evacuation from the Woolsey fire. Pretty crazy... I am guessing the air quality, which isn't great already, is going to be complete crap. I'll likely be all around LA though, so it will be interesting to see what the air quality will be. From what I understand, the winds don't blow east, so maybe it doesn't impact LA much, I mean aside from where the fires are.

One of my cousins lives near the Woolsey fire. I saw a Facebook post the other day and he was near evacuation, he may well have evacuated by now. I should see him TG weekend. Another cousin lost his home a few years ago in a Santa Barbara fire... they've rebuilt. Another cousin in San Diego was close to being burned out in recent years.

 

[VirtualLarry]

It is illegal for Bay Area residents to burn wood or other solid fuels in fireplaces, wood stoves and inserts, pellet stoves, outdoor fire-pits, or other wood-burning devices.

WTF? Seriously? You should visit the New England area some time. You know it's fall / winter, when you can smell the wood smoke in the air! Usually smells good, generally not offensive. We New Englanders know how to build houses with proper working chimneys, I guess CA does not.

 

[repoman0]

WTF? Seriously? You should visit the New England area some time. You know it's fall / winter, when you can smell the wood smoke in the air! Usually smells good, generally not offensive. We New Englanders know how to build houses with proper working chimneys, I guess CA does not.

I used to want to move away from here to the bay area, and then to Colorado, but I'm loving New England more and more. I can deal with and actually quite enjoy a blizzard or three per year, but no thanks to these fires, air quality concerns and hurricanes.

Stay safe California guys

 

[Muse]

WTF? Seriously? You should visit the New England area some time. You know it's fall / winter, when you can smell the wood smoke in the air! Usually smells good, generally not offensive. We New Englanders know how to build houses with proper working chimneys, I guess CA does not.

Seriously. Know-how is something that spreads quickly. The Chinese invented gun powder, didn't take long before it was being used everywhere. Technologies spread super fast.

Wood burning is discouraged around here because of air pollution issues. It's forbidden right now the next few days in my area because of the very unhealthy outside air.

I don't think you can get a permit to build a chimney/fireplace into a house in my town now. It's not because of ignorance in how to build a proper chimney.

The conditions in New England must be a lot different from in California.

BTW, I did visit New England two years ago for two weeks in late August. My cousin has a place on Cape Cod. After staying with them a few days we stayed at Martha's Vineyard a few days and then made it down to Manhattan and stayed with that cousin's brother a few days. I was born in Manhattan, came to California before I was 5, but I have several cousins in New York City.

 

[shortylickens]

I remember when the same thing happened in 2003, (I was stationed there) and people hundreds of miles away dies thanks to smoke inhalation.

 

[Muse]

I used to want to move away from here to the bay area, and then to Colorado, but I'm loving New England more and more. I can deal with and actually quite enjoy a blizzard or three per year, but no thanks to these fires, air quality concerns and hurricanes.

Stay safe California guys

The fires weren't that big a deal until very recent years. The last 10 years it's gotten worse and worse. I only bought N95 dust masks a year ago. Of course, it's minor for me compared to the many thousands of people who lost their homes. Over 7000 homes burned in just the last 5 days, over 30 confirmed dead now and I think that number is going to go way up. The Camp Fire was super brutal. They said the area of 7 football fields a minute were burning at one point. I think the town of Paradise had only two access roads. When traffic backed up, a lot of people jumped out of their cars and ran. Many didn't make it. That fire started at 6:30AM, which is just after dawn. If it had started an hour earlier I think the catastrophe would have been much worse.

 

[Carson Dyle]

They're scooping up human remains in Paradise and putting them into little bags. 6500 houses destroyed. The whole town was pretty much wiped off the map.

Now 43 confirmed deaths and still a couple hundred people missing. It will be weeks, maybe months before they find all the bodies.

 

[WelshBloke]

Now 43 confirmed deaths and still a couple hundred people missing. It will be weeks, maybe months before they find all the bodies.

Shit. That's awful.

 

[Muse]

They're scooping up human remains in Paradise and putting them into little bags. 6500 houses destroyed. The whole town was pretty much wiped off the map.

Now 43 confirmed deaths and still a couple hundred people missing. It will be weeks, maybe months before they find all the bodies.

Yup, yesterday they carried the authorities' evening news conference live on local CBS evening news after the 1/2 hour national news. The guy announced sadly that the death toll had climbed from 23 to 29. Tonight they covered tonight's conference live and cut away before the new death toll was announced started regurgitating what the various authorities had said as one after another went up to the microphone. A sign interpreter was going full steam in front of them, just like the last 2 nights. But tonight, when the local station cut back prematurely to the studio I picked up on the obvious fact that they did that because they wanted to avoid that new count moment coming over live TV to their audience. I cursed them and groused that they were such Pollyannas. They started rebroadcasting stuff from earlier and I turned it off. They probably never mentioned the new count.

43. Yup, it's going to go higher, much higher. The devastation to that town was swift and nearly total. 43 will be the headline in the morning paper. Then there will be a higher number announced next evening, and that will be the number in the next morning paper. Evidently the "current" death toll is something they announce at the evening news conference and it stays that until the next news conference.

 

[Carson Dyle]

Go find Paradise on Google Maps and have a look at the some of the street view. Like someone went in and built a whole town under the trees of a forest. Very little rain in the area since last spring, big winds that blew the fire directly through town. It's little wonder that the whole thing went up like a box of matches. 6500 houses. I can't even comprehend that.

Map of destruction:

http://calfire-forestry.maps.arcgis...24920.1673,-13518764.4778,4841526.1117,102100

 

[ArchAngel777]

Yikes, now I am scared... They opened up 101 from Los Angeles into Westlake Village... I'll be right there in about 24 hours. I sure hope that the 100% containment promise (err, projection) of Thursday for the Woolsey fire holds true...

 

[Muse]

Yikes, now I am scared... They opened up 101 from Los Angeles into Westlake Village... I'll be right there in about 24 hours. I sure hope that the 100% containment promise (err, projection) of Thursday for the Woolsey fire holds true...

Saw helicopter video last night of freeway next to the Woolsey fire. A dense parade of slow moving cars etc. was hugging the middle divider because raging flames were right up to the shoulder on the right. Really scary stuff.

I'll be in West L.A. in 9 days.

 

[AreaCode707]

I think we've spent about a month and a half so far this summer in terrible smoke-filled air. Carr Fire, Mendocino Complex Fires (five miles from our house) and now the Camp Fire. It's really shitty but I can't help but appreciate that I can grouse about it inside my own home, unlike so many of my neighbors. The Butte County folks are right underneath the thick of the smoke still, and they're in tents and cars in Chico parking lots.

This has been a really shit year for California, NorCal in particular.

 

[ArchAngel777]

So I landed on Wednesday @ 4:00pm and enjoyed (no, I did not) the 3 hour drive to Westlake Village. Wow, 40 miles and 3 hours. What a shit show. Anyway, at the customer site I was at, they had to evacuate the day before, as it blazed within 100 yards of them. Crazy. Took some pictures..

That said, I did not notice poor air quality on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday or Saturday morning. Just got back home to Minnesota a few hours ago.

Even though traffic sucks in LA, I don't find that most drivers are rude. Surprisingly, drivers seemed less aggressive that what I experience here in the twin cities. Like they are more chill and curtious. That reminds me, the worst drivers in the the USA are, by far, Miami drivers. I can't believe the shit drivers there. I wonder if they even took or passed a license test. Hialeah drivers.... Terribad.

 

[Muse]

Even though traffic sucks in LA, I don't find that most drivers are rude.

They got over it long ago. Bad traffic issues are just part and parcel of driving there. If you are not used to it, it can be hard to deal with. If it's practically expected, you become resigned to it.

Myself, I'm not used to it, but I don't live in L.A. (used to). Traffic around here isn't as bad but it's often very bad. I don't drive much and when I do I can usually pick my times. I exited the freeway yesterday when I saw traffic backing up and took the side streets home. But I only drive around 1000 mi/year. A 15,000 mi/year driver is a different animal.