And now the smoke is back. I live at the site of the Almeda fire in Oregon. There are so many fires going on every side of us that we are blanketed in smoke, more toxic than 2018. I don't go out.
I hope the situations improve for everyone.
Our fires here haven't had the national coverage of the big west coast fires, but we had the largest fire in the state's history and another the 5th largest. The first seems to be mostly under control and the second has had several inches of recent snow that has slowed it down. There's been a total of maybe two or three weeks when I've not wanted to exercise outdoors. The local news had a feature on a mid-sized northerner town that was titled, nighttime in the day comes to town. On top of the fires, they are calling it the hottest summer and hottest August ever. Then a few days ago there was a freak early snow storm that also set some records. I have a day or two of yard work cleaning up downed branches. Before the snow, the entire state was in some degree of official drought for the first time ever. I'm not sure how things are now.
A friend has family in Cedar Rapids, IA. A few weeks ago they had a "derecho", of high winds. News said it damaged 10 million acres of crops and at least some damage to most of the homes in Cedar Rapids. Ten million seemed so fantastic I had to verify it a second time. Not to mention the record temperatures in much of the southwest.
It's been a wild summer in the west. There's weather and there's climate. I think a lot of these extreme events fall into the climate category.
I hadn't heard about the 'derecho' in Iowa. That is really serious on so many levels.
As Cicero said, “Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others.”
The derecho went from Iowa all the way to OH. It spawned up to 15 tornadoes in the Chicago area.
My neighborhood looks like a foggy morning in November, but it's yellow---and it's smoke. I'm about 40 miles from the fires, both to the north and south. There was one closer, about 20 miles, but it's been contained. We don't normally have fires on the west side of the Cascades like this. We do have them, just not like this.
My therapist told me the way to achieve true inner peace is to finish what I start. So far today, I have finished two bags of M&Ms and a chocolate cake. I feel better already!
As the crow flies - we a just a few miles from the fires here in Oregon. The smoke is thick, the smell comes through the bathroom and kitchen vents, the garage, etc. While inconvenienced, I have a home. Photos are beginning to come out from the fire zones and it is total destruction. Scenes similar to what have become all to common in California. Currently they say the fire is only 5% contained, but the wind has turned it back on itself and the increase moisture in the air is also helping. Maybe rain early this week. I have never seen it this bad. Sadly unless the rain washes it away, the only other solution is that the wind blows it away, sorry Boise, Salt Lake City, etc.
My friends in Oregon envy my "very unhealthy" air, as theirs is a worse "hazardous." Smoke detectors are going off all over the place, they report.
Some of them are headed for the coast for some "very unhealthy" relief in the ayem. 2020; good lord.
https://www.airnow.gov/?city=Portlan...OR&country=USA
Yea it could be worse here. I was able to sit outside today (well how else am I to visit people in a pandemic), just not exercised outside as a smoke gray sky probably means that's a bad idea. Fled to the coast yesterday, air less toxic at the beach.
Trees don't grow on money
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