West coast fires

[tcufrog]

We have a college friend who lives with his wife and kids in a Portland suburb. He's had to seal up any cracks in his home including the fireplace screen because of ash. I'm worried about his mom who I've met many times. We used to be close enough that my DH was his best man during his first wedding. She's fiercely independent and has been told that she may have to evacuate at any moment. I'm especially concerned about her since she's in a wheelchair. I'd hate for something to happen to her or her service dog.

 

[Silver saucer]

Im in Lebanon, Oregon. Our air quality is 441. Over the weekend its going to 4137 on Sat and 4746 on Sunday. Im using Accuweather for this. Im hoping those are 24 hour amounts!!!???
So...when does it get unsurvivable?? Just kind of throwing that out there in general....on the Dis....cause...you know!!!

 

[DLgal]

Im in Lebanon, Oregon. Our air quality is 441. Over the weekend its going to 4137 on Sat and 4746 on Sunday. Im using Accuweather for this. Im hoping those are 24 hour amounts!!!???
So...when does it get unsurvivable?? Just kind of throwing that out there in general....on the Dis....cause...you know!!!

Something is wrong with accuweather.

The air quality index only goes up to 500.

Try:
Airnow.gov

 

[Silver saucer]

Air quality where I am is 409 right now, but people have said it went over 500 the two previous days. I drove up to Salem to get my son a couple days ago, and the darkest part of the trip was around Brownsville (a little north of Eugene). My son was out in the woods a ways outside the Salem area. He evacuated to Stayton first, then to Salem the next day, and is now home. We think where he was burned down, which is just tragic as it was a camp for disabled people. The family that runs the camp likely lost their home. But we won't know for a while.

He took this pic in Stayton when he first evacuated:


View attachment 525084



It was dark but he said the sky was red--and it was at 11 a.m. when he took it. Just scary.

He left the Beachie Creek Fire area. but what's closer to home is the Holiday Farm Fire. My friend's mom had to evacuate her memory care because of it (can you imagine? Cottages full of demented elderly people being asked to leave their home and move to a church? It's just awful. )

A 12 year old boy died up in the Salem area (and his grandma). I couldn't stop crying yesterday. It's just so awful. The family is one who made a roadside amusement park that my family has always enjoyed (Called Enchanted Forest), and I went to as a little kid, then took my own kids to. Just so freaking tragic. I am so grateful my son and the group he was working with heard to leave the area--how hard it must be to get the notification out to everyone, and the situation can change so fast. They left at level 2 (level 1 is get ready, level to is be set, and level three is go immediately).

Im in Lebanon. We feel surrounded on 3 sides with the smoke floating on through.
I hope you and yours stay safe!
Really that goes for all of us!! Keep those prayers coming!

 

[Silver saucer]

Something is wrong with accuweather.

The air quality index only goes up to 500.

Try:
Airnow.gov

Im still thinking it's some 24 hour total or something. Air now is reporting Salem, Or as 592. Maybe they increased the index. We are still mid 400's. Really its kind of splitting hairs. Its all bad. Blah!

 

[lifesavacation]

Im in Lebanon. We feel surrounded on 3 sides with the smoke floating on through.
I hope you and yours stay safe!
Really that goes for all of us!! Keep those prayers coming!

Do you know how it looks near Bend? I’m so frustrated with my dad. He left on Monday to camp outside of Bend and he’s out of cell service. We haven’t heard from him since he got there.

 

[Silver saucer]

Do you know how it looks near Bend? I’m so frustrated with my dad. He left on Monday to camp outside of Bend and he’s out of cell service. We haven’t heard from him since he got there.

Bends air quality is 60 so that's a start. And hwy 20 is open again. Otherwise I don't know.
Have you tried facebook? Either Bends or Sisters police or fire department will have ongoing info. Plus the comments give you an idea of what's happening.
Good luck. I can't imagine how frustrating and frightening this must be for you.

 

[DisneyJamieCA]

Having been though this a few years in a row, I find Purple Air to be much more reliable for air quality (just note any super low ones are usually inside a house/building).

 

[dclpluto]

So sad a 12 year old boy died with his dog from the fire in Oregon.

 

[jdb in AZ]

We have friends who evacuated from Auberry, CA. Their DD thinks the property burned.

We also have a niece in Bend, OR. Fortunately she's o.k. Hopefully they'll stay in the clear.

 

[Planogirl]

We have friends who evacuated from Auberry, CA. Their DD thinks the property burned.

We also have a niece in Bend, OR. Fortunately she's o.k. Hopefully they'll stay in the clear.

I've heard that very little of Auberry survived. So tragic.

 

[abdmom]

AQI>500 is an immediate danger to life. No one should be going outside if the AQI is >300. Children and asthmatics shouldn't go outside if the level is >150.

https://www.lung.org/clean-air/outdoors/air-quality-index

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

Something is wrong with accuweather.

The air quality index only goes up to 500.

Try:
Airnow.gov

It goes to 500, but we were at 639 on Monday in Pasco, Washington. That was the day WSDOT had to close a lot of roads because the visibility was so poor and there were several accidents.

 

[bcla]

I don't get what's going on around here. Current AQI is supposedly around 250, but the air doesn't smell like smoke. And it's looking grayish, but at least it isn't that faint orange glow from the sky.

 

[usnuzuloose]

My neighbor was telling me his cousin lives in Vacaville and was evacuated and came back and his whole house was gone, so sad

 

[Meriweather]

DH's brother lives in southern WA. He said it is bad sky but his house is safe......hope it stays that way.

Such a bad year.....virus, fires, tropical storms, explosions, killings, riots, floods

 

[DLgal]

I don't get what's going on around here. Current AQI is supposedly around 250, but the air doesn't smell like smoke. And it's looking grayish, but at least it isn't that faint orange glow from the sky.

The AQI may be a result of ozone. It was here a couple days ago. Basically, we were experiencing an inversion (weather phenomenon) on top of the smoke issues. It didn't smell bad, but the ozone level was high, leading to an index of 185.

 

[bcla]

The AQI may be a result of ozone. It was here a couple days ago. Basically, we were experiencing an inversion (weather phenomenon) on top of the smoke issues. It didn't smell bad, but the ozone level was high, leading to an index of 185.

I looked again. It's the Oakland, CA reporting area with an AQI of 242 for PM2.5. It says ozone level 6, which it classifies as good. Of course it could just be a little bit outdated or maybe a localized condition. All in all it seems to be pretty good where I am right now.

 

[godisney14]

In case people are not aware yet, many of these air quality databases that utilize a crowdsourcing method such as Purple Air and AQI has limitations on the particulates they can detect. They generally have a 1 to 10um threshold on the upper bound. So, they do not quite accurately account for everything in the air.

 

[Silver saucer]

In case people are not aware yet, many of these air quality databases that utilize a crowdsourcing method such as Purple Air and AQI has limitations on the particulates they can detect. They generally have a 1 to 10um threshold on the upper bound. So, they do not quite accurately account for everything in the air.

OP here. Still hanging in there and trying not to breathe. Sadly Im still really scared. I have no doubt Im not alone in that feeling.
I am reading old Far Side comics to keep laughing! It helps.

So does that mean the values are being under reported or over reported?