Feels great to finally take a full breath

[cally]

Without smelling smoke!! I know there has been very little news coverage but California is on fire. We are suffering with many fires still burning with very little containment. Predictions are that some of these will burn for weeks more. Look at this site: https://www.fire.ca.gov/incidents/ For the most up to date status. Some of these fires would cover the entire area of other states. Many evacuated and many others lost homes and businesses. Some of our favorite parks, trails, and natural sites are gone as well as many historical towns where previous generations of my family lived.

I live in the SF Bay Area. We have had more than a week of gray skies because of massive smoke and debris. You couldn’t go outside for long without feeling it and yet many still went to work in outside jobs. It is very unnerving even though I do live 20 or so miles from the nearest active fire.

Today we have blue skies and great air quality!!!! Such a relief for most of us in this region

[cilla4progress]

1. All my best!

I live in eastern Washington state. We are plagued with wildfires regularly - we lost our home to one in 1994, and in 2018 were on mandatory evac status for weeks; no buildings burned.

I know the smell - and yes, as you say, the FEEL - including nausea, of smoke.

All my thoughts are with you and my friends and family down your way, and I am happy for your relief today!

[virgogal]

2. Glad to hear to,must be awful for those with breathing problems.

[cally]

4. I have several friends who cannot leave their house

And are suffering. I call them to check up and they can barely get a sentence out. It is bad

[calguy]

3. I don't live in California anymore

But I do well remember the smoke blanketing the central valley where I lived for 35 years. It's gotten way worse in the 12 years I've been gone. My heart goes out to all my California friends and former neighbors in these difficult days of summer.

[Illumination]

10. Born in California. Lived in LA area & the Bay Area. When I left in 1980 the air quality was bad

then! Don't miss it,,,

[ailsagirl]

5. Today we're supposed to keep our windows closed-- at least it's not a zillion degrees!!

What a year

[paleotn]

11. It's been quite a year.

I borrowed an old saying from my dad. Use to irritate the hell out of me, but he was right. My wife now swears by it. A good day always follows a bad.

[ailsagirl]

15. That's what I've heard

My biggest worry is what will happen in November-- I can hardly think about without hyperventilating!!

A day at a time...

[colorado_ufo]

6. I know how you feel because

Colorado has been on fire, also! Beautiful, beautiful Glenwood Canyon blackened. So much smoke and ash in Grand Junction that I had to wear my mask in the car with the windows up and the AC on "recirculate" or risk an asthma attack. We went days here without seeing the sky, much less the mountains. Still cleaning up ash. Even my outdoor plants stink when I water them! (And the ash did not help the flowers, either!)

[cally]

7. I'm so sorry

Frustrates me that this has gotten not national news coverage. I did not know about Colorado. I, too, wore mask in my car with the air on recirculate. today was first day with clear skies so I may actually dust tomorrow and start cleaning up

[colorado_ufo]

8. These are now the largest fires, I heard, in the history of Colorado.

I don't know if I will live long enough to see it recover, at my age. I hope so.

Your kind words mean a lot to me - thank you so much!

[cally]

13. Hang in there

I know how much this is getting to me with Covid, then the orange menace, and then the fires. We’ll make it through together.

[Rebl2]

12. I saw

coverage last week on national news about the fires, but then here came two hurricanes. Coverage switched to that this week. Then there were two conventions two weeks in a row and virus coverage on top of that.
My sister lives a couple hours south of Sacramento and she said the smoke is pretty much gone there. There were no fires where she lives, but they were getting smoke earlier in the week from fires somewhere.

[paleotn]

9. Good news! Glad you guys are getting a break...

I cannot imagine what you folks have been through. We had a small taste of it in western NC several years ago and that was more than enough. My thoughts and wishes are with you!

[cally]

14. Thanks. I have it much better than most

Santa Cruz area and the East Bay have it bad. That one fire is enormous

[electric_blue68]

16. We've heard about it here...

in NYC at least on local Public Radio which is what I mostly listen to. Rough, scary stuff.

Certainly way not as bad as this, but I remember ?30 yrs ago or so there were fires down in maybe Kentucky. They were so big the wind was carrying the smoke up here to NYC. They skies looked a little different but a mild smokey smell all over with no fire, cloud of smoke in sight. Surreal.

Colorado, too?
Have had the privilege of visiting parts of both States decades back. Much is still vivid in my memories!

Good luck to quenching them, and repairing what can be saved, or strength for starting over.