The map above shows the forecast for the distribution of near-surface smoke at 6 a.m. PDT September, 13, 2020.
It appears that severe impacts will occur in areas of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana.
(UPDATED smoke and air quality maps for September 13 can be found HERE)
Air quality from AirNow at 3 p.m. PDT September 12, 2020 is below. Most of Oregon, Washington, and northern California are in the categories of Unhealthy, Very Unhealthy, or Hazardous. If you’re in those areas and are lucky enough to have an N95 mask, this is a good time to use it. Being indoors does not help much unless you are aggressively filtering the air with a HEPA category filter. (Information about how to reduce your exposure to smoke.)
Below is the air quality forecast for Sunday September 13, 2020.
The photos below compare visibility in Eugene, Oregon on a clear day and today, September 12, 2020.
With all the money we have, as a country, I cant believe we still fight fires in such a primitive way…
It is no wonder why this is a devastation of great magnitude….
Billions of dollars of property and beautiful forests are burnt to a crisp!
Do the math…
Its cheaper to build 3 Modern Fire Fighting Fleets…
1 for West Coast, 1 for East Coast and 1 for the Gulf….
Each Fleet has Air Craft carriers that have Fire Fighting Air Crafts like Planes and Helicopters etc…
They can be equipped with many pumps that fill the Fire Fighting Air Craft with Sea Water…
They can be dispersed in a way that there is a constant circulation of water spray over the Fire…
We can use most of our existing Navy and cross train them for this type of Emergency Support…
Rather than just wasting money on fuel, ammo, and salary’s on Military war games…
This would also encourage Military Weapons contractors to think outside the box and place bids on developing Fire Fighting Air Craft, Vehicles, that actually Extinguish Fires on a Large Scale!
Lining up all our people and passing buckets of water and digging trenches to control a fire does not work for Large Fires!
This world will be a waste land with little vegetation if these Large Fires continue to burn thousands of acres year after year…
That is a very interesting comment. I wonder what is the cutting edge technology regarding wildland firefighting?
Your thoughts are certainly compelling. Forest management is, of course, important (no one is saying it isn’t). However, some seem to believe that FM is the silver bullet, and I just don’t believe that it is. Climate change has as much to do with our current situation (including multiple severe hurricanes each year, savage winters, dangerous heat in summer). You raise a point that is being missed, I think. Of course, prevention is key, but we should rethink how we respond. A national effort, utilizing military logistical and tactical know-how, as well as equipment, I would think, could not prove less efficient and effective (given proper planning and implementation).
We published an article today about how to reduce your exposure to smoke. It includes information about the use of air filters that can remove some of the PM2.5 particulates. https://wildfiretoday.com/2020/09/14/how-to-reduce-your-exposure-to-smoke/
One of the challenges I’ve seen recently is actually finding solid data on air quality. Different groups and sensors are reporting sometimes drastically different numbers for the AQI. For example, Weather Underground is currently reporting and AQI of 317 for Eureka, CA. The Fire and Smoke map at Airnow has 171 at their permanent monitor in Eureka. Purple Air is reporting between 166 and 178 for various consumer monitors around town. Accuweather has 149. The map above has between 50 and 200 depending on distance from the coast.
This isn’t meant as a criticism of your map Bill, just expressing the difficulty I’m seeing with getting solid data. From going outside I’d estimate the AQI at between 150-200 which is in range of some of the sites above but that’s just a seat of the pants guess. The 317 value though begins to make me more cautious about doing any work outside.
I trust NOAA and NWS over all other independent, commercial weather reporting, apps.
Faith?
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Thank you for the update Bill
I am very confused why does it say air quality is good but there is so much smoke outside in San Dimas California