I’m sure everyone’s heard on the news about the devastating wildfires in California, Oregon, and Washington. Houses and other buildings burned. People dying. Those are real tragedies. Life changing catastrophes.
Two years ago the Greater Vancouver Area was covered in wildfire smoke for about two weeks. That wildfire did take a huge toll on many communities. At times visibility was only about half a mile in Cloverdale. Being enveloped in wildfire smoke is similar to a never ending fog. It’s living our lives in black and white.
Right now the wildfire smoke from the western states has settled over the Vancouver area. In fact, right now (September 13, 2020) Vancouver has the second worse air quality in the world!
What city is number one? That would be Portland, Oregon.
You can find the world’s worst air quality list on this website: https://www.iqair.com/ca/world-air-quality-ranking
Five cities from the West Coast are in the Top 10 of the world’s worst air quality right now. Incredible!
What’s the air like?
With the bad air quality, people are being told not to exercise. Yeah no problem for me in that department!
Right now visibility is about two miles.
It’s been worse in the past. Two years ago smoke from the BC wildfires, visibility was about half a mile.
The air smells like a bonfire is happening nearby. Or someone has a fire in their fireplace.
A bit of a sore throat and irritated eyes, but not so bad for me. The smoky air from the wildfires is difficult for people suffering from respiratory issues, including Covid-19.
The other thing about the air is that’s it’s quite cool. The temperature is in the 50’s, perhaps heating up to about 60F in the day.
On Saturday morning (September 12) I was really regretting wearing shorts to the farm and not bringing along a sweater. Memories of Thursday when the temperature was 90F.
When I got home I changed into jeans and eventually broke down and put a sweater on too. Brrr!
Today when I drove out to the farm to tend to my horse, I was smart enough to wear a sweater! I still wasn’t smart enough to wear jeans. Love my shorts! Not enough love to wear them for the rest of the day, though.
The air quality doesn’t appear to be affecting my horse, but I’m currently not riding him.
No exercise, right!
People are being told it’s a good idea to wear face masks until the air quality improves. Due to the pandemic, just about everyone has one.
Photos
Here’s a photo I took from the pasture on Saturday afternoon around 4:30. Can you see that little dot aka the sun? Smoky, orange skies.
Here are a couple more photos I took of the sun this afternoon from another part of the property.
And here’s a shot from the path I just walked along. Nice place to live! Loving the country life!
Video
Here’s dash camera video, side by side, from one week ago and today of the disappearing Golden Ears mountains. Click through to YouTube for full size. September 13 is not edited black and white photography.This is how it looks outside.
The video below is driving to the farm where I keep my horse. Left side is September 6, 2020 and the right side is September 13, 2020. You can see a huge difference between blue skies and smoky skies and the visibility.
This video is driving home from the farm. Check out the difference between blue skies and smoky skies. Video taken mid to late morning.
How’s the air quality where you live? Anyone else seeing smoky skies from the wildfires? I’m thankful that all we’re experiencing is just smoke and not loss of property and loss of life.
I’m hoping it rains real soon in Washington, Oregon, and California. My heart goes out to everyone affected by the wildfires. Everyone stay safe.
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