Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

No offense, but this thread hasn’t been about you for quite a while.

Republicans are the party of chaos and catastrophe.

I’ve spoken to my cat about this, but it doesn’t seem to do any good.

Whoever he was, that guy was nuts.

Not so fun when the rabbit gets the gun, is it?

Stamping your little feets and demanding that they see how important you are? Not working anymore.

This year has been the longest three days of putin’s life.

In short, I come down firmly on all sides of the issue.

They love authoritarianism, but only when they get to be the authoritarians.

I conferred with the team and they all agree – still not tired of winning!

Come on, media. you have one job. start doing it.

The worst democrat is better than the best republican.

Republicans don’t trust women.

I was promised a recession.

We’ve had enough carrots to last a lifetime. break out the sticks.

Never entrust democracy to any process that requires republicans to act in good faith.

The GOP is a fucking disgrace.

Republicans do not pay their debts.

So it was an October Surprise A Day, like an Advent calendar but for crime.

We are builders in a constant struggle with destroyers. let’s win this.

The willow is too close to the house.

Make the republican party small enough to drown in a bathtub.

“Cheese and Kraken paired together for the appetizer trial.”

I’m pretty sure there’s only one Jack Smith.

You are here: Home / John Cole Presents "This Fucking Old House" / Wildfire Smoke

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44Comments

  2. 2.

    Steeplejack

    My AirNow rating has been zooming up today here at Sighthound Hall in Arlington, VA. Currently 159 (“unhealthy”), up from just under 100 (“moderate”) around noon.

  6. 6.

    UncleEbeneezer

    If you didn’t see them at the time, check out the sky pictures in California from during the 2020 wildfires.  It was horrible!  The whole sky was a dark red and you couldn’t breathe the air and it was 100+ degrees.  Absolute hell On Earth!  We had to even cancel tennis classes (something we NEVER do) because of the air quality.

  7. 7.

    Scout211

    Having gone through smoke-filled skies and dangerous air from our California wildfires in the past few years, I have deep sympathy for all of you suffering. And also sympathy for the people near the areas of Canada that are still on fire.

    HEPA air purifiers, N95 masks, stay indoors, keep your pets indoors, don’t exercise outside (even with masks). I hope you all have air conditioning.

  8. 8.

    Math Guy

    I have it on good authority that the fires were set by a pod of disgruntled orcas.

  9. 9.

    Ken

    This provocation from Canada cannot go unpunished. The US should invade, take Ottawa, and install a regime that won’t blow smoke at us. Three days, tops, to finish the war.

  10. 10.

    Jay

    Good Masks outdoors,

    Air purifiers indoors,

    Get used to it.

    Despite a cold wet spring, we have half a dozen fires burning on the Wet Coast.

    Really, you need to get used to it. The highway to Whistler was closed for the past two days just north of the Lions Bay ferry terminal, due to a forest fire, that is now, “just under control”. The Wet Coast doesn’t  burn, but now it does.

  11. 11.

    Mousebumples

    Wore an KN95 outside for gardening today, and ordered an air purifier. Definitely Not Great.

  12. 12.

    WaterGirl

    It’s been really bad here in Champaign for the past 2 days.  People wearing their Covid masks to go out and get the mail.  Me, I am practicing taking a deep breath before I walk out the door to check the mail or throw something into recycling, and then not breathing again til I get inside.

    But I may go to the mask tomorrow!

    I see that Steeplejack is modeling what will be handy for this thread if the rest of us do it, too.

    My AirNow rating has been zooming up today here at Sighthound Hall in Arlington, VA

    So I will add Illinois to my mention of Champaign.

    John where are you guys?

  13. 13.

    WaterGirl

    On the plus side, they are predicting rain for the next several days.  Let’s see if we get any this time!

    Does the rain help clear out any of the smoke and haze?

  14. 14.

    Bill Arnold

    Air purifiers indoors,

    If one has ducted forced-air heating/cooling, a high(est)-quality air filter, and setting the heat/cool to neither/fan helps a lot. If one has neither, closing windows and doors and keeping them closed helps if the indoor air isn’t already polluted. Also good for pollen (though even a mid-quality filter will help against pollen).

  15. 15.

    WaterGirl

    @Mousebumples: I have to thank someone on BJ for their air purifier recommendation during the big wildfires out west – that was two years ago, right?

    I ordered one then because I figured the time to get something like that is before you need it.  But I ordered another one yesterday!

  16. 16.

    JoyceH

    Doesn’t it seem like we need a new strategy for wildfires? I don’t know what it would be, not at all my area of expertise, but it’s becoming so prevalent we need… something different from what we’ve been doing.

  20. 20.

    Elizabelle

    That’s actually a rather beautiful, impressionistic photograph.  Of a day with bad air.

    It makes me wonder what the skies looked like after Krakatoa blew up.  For months.  And how the artists used the light, or lack of light, in their landscapes.  I would imagine there have been some exhibitions of that art.

    In Richmond VA we have an air quality alert, just until 1 am.  It’s 117, which is not bad, relatively, to the midwest.

  21. 21.

    geg6

    Yep.  I was a child in the 60s and a teen in the 70s.  We had Republic Steel, J&L Steel, Standard Steel, American Bridge and Crucible Steel all along the Ohio River here in Beaver County in a stretch of about 25 miles.  And that’s not counting ancillary industries not on the river but pumping out noxious things like Babcock and Wilcox.  I don’t ever remember seeing the sky like this.  But I will say that the mills smelled worse.  Today it smelled like burnt plastic.  Back then, it was a sulfur smell.  I’d take the burnt plastic if forced to choose.  It’s really killing my eyes.  I’ve never used eye drops like I have the last two days.

    By the way, none of those companies exist today.

  23. 23.

    Miki

    Chicago, Detroit, and Minneapolis had the worst air in the world this morning. An hour ago AQI in St. Paul was in the 150s. On June 14 it was over 250.

    Our normal bad air days is 2 per year. This year we’ve had 24.

    It really needs to rain in Canada.

  25. 25.

    Another Scott

    @JoyceH:

    IIRC, most of the “global warming” that has been going on has been in the north…

    Natural-resources.canada.ca:

    Since 1990, “wildland fires” across Canada have consumed an average of 2.5 million hectares [ about 9650 square miles ] a year.

    These fires occur in forests, shrub lands and grasslands. Some are uncontrolled wildfires started by lightning or human carelessness. A small number are prescribed fires set by authorized forest managers to mimic natural fire processes that renew and maintain healthy ecosystems.

    Wildland fire management: balancing the bad and the good

    Wildland fires present a challenge for forest management because they have the potential to be at once harmful and beneficial. They can threaten communities and destroy vast amounts of timber resources, resulting in costly losses.

    However, wildland fires are a natural part of the forest ecosystem and important in many parts of Canada for maintaining the health and diversity of the forest. In this way, prescribed fires offer a valuable resource management tool for enhancing ecological conditions and eliminating excessive fuel build-up.

    Not all wildland fires should (or can) be controlled. Forest agencies work to harness the force of natural fire to take advantage of its ecological benefits while at the same time limiting its potential damage and costs.

    This makes fire control strategies a vital component of forest management and emergency management in Canada.

    Understanding the complex phenomenon of wildland fire begins with understanding the basic physical aspects of fire and the ecological role of fire in forests and other wildland areas. Increasingly accurate assessments of the fire situation across Canada are now helping land managers use forest science to reduce fire risk and optimize the benefits.

    […]

    Natural-resources.canada.ca:

    Climate change during the 21st century is expected to result in more frequent fires in many boreal forests, with severe environmental and economic consequences.

    From global climate models and scenarios, researchers are interpreting how climate change and climate variability may alter patterns of lightning, fuel moisture, temperature, precipitation and vegetation—all factors that can affect fire occurrence.

    Fire-prone conditions are predicted to increase across Canada. This could potentially result in a doubling of the amount of area burned by the end of this century, compared with amounts burned in recent decades. Boreal forests, which have been greatly influenced by fire through history, will likely be especially affected by this change.

    Other climate change impacts that could add damaged or dead wood to the forest fuel load (for example, as a result of insect outbreaks, ice storms or high winds) may increase the risk of fire activity.

    New research is aimed at refining these climate change estimates of fire activity, and at investigating adaptation strategies and options to deal with future fire occurrence. There is growing consensus that as wildland fire activity increases, fire agency suppression efforts will be increasingly strained.

    I’m not sure how much can be done about it in the short term – Canada is huge and most of the population lives in the southern quarter or so of the map.

    :-(

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  26. 26.

    Suzanne

    I will note that, since I lived in Arizona for many years, I got used to wildfires in the summer. This smoke is stinkier, in a way.

  28. 28.

    Ken

    @Another Scott: If you google “Canada half population line”, you’ll find maps that show that half the Canadian population lives south of latitude 45.7 — that is, south of the 49th parallel that forms most of the US-Canada border.

  29. 29.

    Kelly

    I believe it’s already the worst fire season Canada has ever recorded and it’s only June. This fire season could extend easily to October. Much sympathy for my Canadian neighbors.

  30. 30.

    TriassicSands

    …and others with breathing issues. — J. Cole

    Yeah, however, that actually includes 100% of humanity and animal life on the planet, since we all have to breathe. But for people with respiratory issues it’s horrendous. Sadly, as these events become more common and worse, they may lead to many more people developing chronic respiratory problems.

  31. 31.

    TriassicSands

    @Another Scott:

    And every tree that burns results in more carbon in the atmosphere and less being removed. It’s what Republicans call “Win-Win.”

  32. 32.

    satby

    AQI right now in S. Bend is 199, down from 231 earlier today and 263 yesterday. I’ve gone out only long enough to put food on my porch for the ferals, and most of them have not been showing up the past few days. Beautiful mild temperatures, but no going out to garden because the air was dangerous even for healthy people. Even staying inside, the asthma is kicking my ass again.

  33. 33.

    Scout211

    @JoyceH: PBS had a NOVA episode, Inside the MegaFire, in 2019 (only available on DVD now, apparently) that was excellent. The episode started with the Paradise fire and then went through all the reasons why these mega fires are now happening and what solutions may be possible.  Spoiler alert:  solutions are not going to be easy or in some cases even possible.

    Or we can all just take the advice of former President Stable Genius who told us here on the west coast that we should just rake the forests and all would be solved. 😉

  34. 34.

    jackmac

    Chicago area was worst in the world this week and not much better today. Relief may be on the way on Thursday. Can’t wait.

  36. 36.

    Odie Hugh Manatee

    You and all those dealing with this have my sympathy. I have pics from the fire that came within 6 miles of town a few years ago where the sky is so dark with smoke at mid day that you can’t see halfway down the block. The sun was just a tiny red dot in the sky and everything was a hellish dark orange. The smoking leaves falling from the sky was the topper. This shit is harsh for those trapped without air conditioning or a way to filter their air.

    Much like our problem with guns, I think Republicans are going to recommend more fossil fuels as a solution to the problem.

  37. 37.

    sab

    @WaterGirl: Rain didn’t help us at all. Rained yesterday and we started this morning at 302 on a 500 point scale: i.e. hazardous for anyone breathing outside. NE Ohio.

  38. 38.

    Martin

    Not so bad. You can still see the sun and trees. I woke up one morning not able to see the house across the street.

    CA burns because we’re more on the knifes edge of fire, so small changes have big impacts, but Canada is burning because the change there is larger than it is here in the south. Russia has been having big burns as well. Colorado has seen more fires.

    The boreal forests are seeing the more dramatic effects from climate change and that seems like it’ll move south into places like Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin and Maine and NY.

  39. 39.

    mardam

    In my day (late 50s-early 60s Pittsburgh) this was how we got our vitamins. We breathed in the soot, digested the minerals and spit it out…usually on your friend’s foot.

    Kids nowadays.

  40. 40.

    Reverse tool order

    I worked in wild land fire for ten seasons, a long time ago now. By my third season it was obvious that the fundamental strategy, fire suppression, was not sustainable. Now, 40+ years later, it’s clear to all that something is wrong.

    A little good news to start: there are solutions that could reduce the magnitude to something bearable. Mostly, it’s bad news. Like doing dishes, we’ll never be done. It’s inherently risky, expensive, difficult, unpleasant, controversial, etc.

    What we’re seeing now is actually not unprecedented and new. Google ’10 largest US fires’ and for most loss of lives “Peshtigo Fire”. (Note what happened in Chicago at the same time for why it’s unfamiliar.) Fire conditions at the time of these sound familiar. Extended drought intersected by warm, dry winds. Oversimplifying, the “great Fire of 1910” led the young USDA Forest Service to conclude that wildfire is BAD and should all be suppressed quickly. That worked more or less, especially for the first several decades after. Firefighting got more capable and professional and still seemed to cope until recently.

    What changed? Look around much of our wildlands, what is now familiar is not exactly natural. Plants aren’t so good at holding back growth, suppressing the counterbalance of somewhat frequent low intensity fire just builds and builds fuel load. So, increasing fuel load, especially closer to ground. AKA “ladder fuels” or understory.

    Climate change is a different, intersecting factor, though it does affect fuels before the event. Not just average temperatures but more variable weather including drought and fire weather are ramping up.

    Thus we have increasingly unmanageable fuel loading often overlapping with drought stress, heat plus wind surges, massive bug kills in forests, and so forth.

    What can be done about it? First, a brief on fire fundamentals. Three things are needed to have fire, known as the fire triangle. 1. Available fuel to burn 2. Available air or oxygen for the chemical reaction. 3. Sufficient temperature and heat to reach fuel ignition temperature. Taking any one away, say by cooling with a jet of water, smothering with a blanket of carbon dioxide from a dry chemical extinguisher, breaking fuel continuity with a fire line and the fire goes out with sufficient effort.

    Fire intensity, rate of spread, and all that are very sensitive to a great number of variable conditions. All wildfires start out small, a few don’t stay small. The difference is in the particular conditions.

    For example, dry grass at 3 PM with sun and humidity in the teens burns like hell. 3 AM with triple the humidity and cooler can’t carry fire even with a drip torch. Fuel type and arrangement and continuity, % dead vs live, fuel moisture are all important beyond the simple fuel tons per acre. Slope, wind direction and strength, humidity are some more factors.

    Here are a couple of thought exercises to apply what I’ve touched on. Why do conifer forests leave behind their skeletons (trunks and heavy branches) when they burn? Picture a field in a warm, dry afternoon with tall brown grass and a scattering of old rotting tree stumps. Ember fall from a nearby fire is igniting spot fires in the field. In which fuel, and why?

    Back to the question of what can be done to manage wildfires. Still today most of the talk and mindset is on “prevention” and blaming someone else for the fires they start. Yes, we can mitigate some of the ignition mechanisms. What I’ll tell you is that ignition happens sooner or later and in so many ways that you can’t even think of them all.

    In that fire triangle, plants will grow miles deep in air and ignition is coming all the while. Something we can do is work at reducing our fuel load. It’s all kinds of difficult but there is no actual alternative way. I need to wrap this up for now. I’ll end by saying IF we increase our managed burning by a factor of 100, it would at least be a serious beginning.

    I know it can be done because I did a little of it as part of duties on a USFS hotshot crew. Shit goes wrong and it’s sometimes nasty and brutal. Suppression no longer works, nor can we just walk away and ignore it. The scale of what there is to do is more daunting than you imagine and just starts over again forever. Don’t figure on saving any money versus what is spent now, either.

    I could say a little about what goes into planning and conducting managed burns if folks are interested. Later.

  42. 42.

    WaterGirl

    I guess maybe this means that the smoke is starting to head elsewhere from here in Champaign, IL?

    Wildfire Smoke 1

    I would never have predicted that here in Central Illinois the air would get s bad that only being red (unhealthy) was something to celebrate!

  44. 44.

    RevRick

    We hit 431 in Allentown PA three weeks ago. Do I get a cookie for having the least breathable air?

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