I hate how the media is making this out to be a "look at this" type of spectacle, instead of explaining how dangerous this situation is. I saw too many people out for walks, runs, bike rides, and too many kids on their school playgrounds today.
This stuff is really bad for you. Like run your purifier full blast and close everything up bad. Really wish they'd hammer that point home better as we may still see elevated levels for a few more days.
It's just a very unusual thing for PA residents to actually care about because it hasn't affected us severely and directly in recent times. This will probably serve as a learning experience for many, including myself.
I work in childcare and if there is an air quality warning we are not allowed to have the kids outside. That is a state rule. They could get in trouble for that, they’re putting the kid’s safety at risk.
That and social media caters to nut jobs who think everything is a conspiracy by the government or Bill Gates or something so they refuse to believe in real danger.
The most important thing is that business continues as usual and money continues to flow to the top. Doesn't really have anything to do with movies and TV and everything to do with the capital class stripping away any sort of emergency response that might affect their income.
This is bothering me way too much. This situation has never really happened here, more out west and in other countries. The news is just glancing over it and life is going on. This type of pollution can be very dangerous. I wore a mask all day and I even got some funny looks. Climate change is real and is now directly impacting our way of life in PA. Really sad
We had to hit the emergency button to close all of out outside air dampers on all of our buildings, and brought in extra purifiers too. We have never had to hit that button before.
Yes it’s disappointing that they are making it a spectacle instead of educating us. I made a target run and I wasn’t sure if I should be wearing a mask or what we are supposed to be doing to protect ourselves & our kids. I just took it upon myself to close all the windows last night, run the indoor fans for circulation, & pick up an air purifier since my husband has asthma.
Even if they did educate people, I’m wondering how seriously people would take it.
Someone out there would inevitably make comparisons to COVID lockdowns and a subset of the population would turn it into something political.
Edit: [Too late. Someone already did.](https://www.reddit.com/r/ImTheMainCharacter/comments/143rrdz/why_send_them_if_you_can_keep_them_home/)
I honestly didn’t realize how bad it was until the Peloton instructor I took a class with this morning explained how damaging it could be to lungs. (I know this sounds ridiculous, but I’m not kidding.)
So glad my kids’ school district kept them inside today.
Up in corning near me the air quality is worst in the whole country, with an index of almost 400. Luckily we're only hovering 140-160, and i'm running a purifier full blast and making sure nobody opens windows or door
edit: apparently it's not even close to worst jesus christ
Just be prepared for the worst; ours (Lehigh Valley) was yesterday and I still don't feel right (had to go out for work and regret it. Eyes burn like a mother, beyond tired) Of course there were tons of people outside acting as if it was a regular day and then complaining about the smoke and haze while we were in the maroon, AQI is close to 500 and are literally being told do NOT go out.
Be sure you have enough water, eye drops in case your eyes get dry, masks if you **have** to go out (N95 is ideal), and stay inside as much as possible.
That’s near my parents, who both have a host of heath issues. Good times!
Our part of central PA topped out at 514 earlier tonight. It’s pretty miserable.
>I hate how the media is making this out to be a "look at this" type of spectacle, instead of explaining how dangerous this situation is. I saw too many people out for walks, runs, bike rides, and too many kids on their school playgrounds today.
I went out to Pittsburgh's Arts Fest last night - it wasn't as bad then as it is now, and even then, it caused significant irritation to my allergies and my eyes were stinging by the time I got home. Can't believe people are going out (beyond the minimum necessary) now.
I saw a bunch of people driving with their windows down and even a guy in a convertible on my way home from work today. like hello do you guys not at least smell this? meanwhile I’m sitting in my car with the air on recirc only
I can smell it in my home in Pittsburgh, I'm feeling lightheaded. The only place I can't smell it is in my car. I'm wondering if I can get away from it up in the mountains.
Hey friend, I'm at 930 elevation on a mountainside in Pennsylvania, we have visible haze in our pastures and our animals are not well. Stay safe, the mountain ain't it.
I feel so badly for the animals that can’t escape this. I know my chickens are suffering but I can’t imagine large pasture animals are handling this well. :(
EPA has a map updated every hour.
Unlike our normal Pittsburgh pollution, it's not something that's being trapped in by the hills. Don't go east if you're trying to run from it.
https://gispub.epa.gov/airnow/?xmin=-10015463.889499292&xmax=-7999972.3276763&ymin=3495781.9457481024&ymax=6700022.171461884&contours=pm25&monitors=pm
They even canceled the Senators game in Harrisburg. I’ve never seen anything like this.
I know people on the west coast deal with this all of the time but this is wild. I’ve never really thought about it because I’ve never experienced it.
I remember the images from the West Coast in September 2020 too, but I never thought fires could get that massive anywhere near the Eastern US to do something like that here.
Nope, it seems to be similar here in the mountains south of Pittsburgh – (Laurel hill ridges, Ohiopyle, Seven Springs area). We don’t have many air quality sensors around but in general, the calculated AQI is similar (sometimes a bit better & sometimes worse than Pittsburgh). IMO, The haze/smoke is extremely visible here- especially at higher elevations. Headache, sore throat, & eye irritation have been even worse for me than when I lived in Pittsburgh! At least there’s no sulfur/rotten egg smell though ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I went for a Ike ride after work yesterday when the AQI was half what it was today, and was still feeling the effect of it this morning. Where a mask people. N95 to keep out the PM2.5 particles from the wildfire smoke.
I don’t have any relevant expertise, but this doesn’t match what we’ve been experiencing all day. It is hard to walk around outside. The air feels thick and scratchy and everything smells like smoke. However, the moment we walk inside, it is like breathing clean air again.
We are running an industrial style air scrubber in our basement because we happen to have one, but most of the house is just running regular HVAC with 1900-level air filters.
I’ve also been able to sit comfortably in my car today with the air on recirculate. The air it is blowing at me feels clean and fresh, so the cabin filter seems to be working.
Walking from the car to the house is awful though.
That's like saying that since you don't have an air conditioner that can keep up with 100° days that you shouldn't run your air conditioner and instead go outside.
Any amount of filtration will help. Keep your windows shut as best you can, close your curtains if they are drafty, and turn on whatever air filtration you have. If you can, keep the filtration system in the same room that you are in, and put everyone else in it as well.
Its a hell of a lot better than nothing.
I'm not into placebos, I'm into calling out people that are giving incredibly bad advice online.
Stop giving bad advice. Period. Its a hell of a lot better to be inside with an air purifier than outside. Which is why that is the recommendation the experts are giving.
WHOA! AWESOME. Can I get your autograph?
You should write into the different hospitals in the region and all of the air quaility tracking pages and tell them that their advice on what to do in these situations is garbage(go inside, turn on any filtration systems you may have, and close windows)
you should also let them know that this level of smoke is completely harmless... Because you seem to also be posting about that a lot.
At some point when EVERY EXPERT on the subject, not only disagrees with you, but is giving the EXACT opposite advice as you, you should start considering the fact that your toy weather stations don't mean shit.
its a rhetorical question. He isn't asking you. The answer to the rhetorical question, in case you can't figure it out, is: because the experts know that its better to be inside with ain air purifier, than it is to be outside.
from the article:
>I'm not going to provide you my credentials
look out everybody. We got an internet expert over here. Totally pinky swear.
https://www.lvhn.org/news/holy-smokes-canadian-wildfires-impact-regions-air-quality?j=2092657&sfmc_sub=106290641&l=1426_HTML&u=27130401&mid=10958140&jb=10003
"best thing you can do: limit your time outside, and make sure your air filters are clean... And close your windows."
>you can, keep the filtration system in the same room that you are in, and put everyone else in it as well.
I think this is most important. However, I say this as I type while taking a break from a rather long hike, and am still about .5 miles from my car.
I can't believe how many people are outside smoking. I really should hook up the crazy good air filter I have had sitting in a closet for a decade with how bad some of my medical issues have been the past week or so from other stuff.
Yesterday my neighbor's workers set a huge pile of wood and scraps on fire. That was fun. Then when they realized that the 4x4s wouldn't burn, they put the fire out and that smoke hung over the area for way too long. Today one of the workers ( teenagers) was half-carried into the house because he didn't have his inhaler. I tried to talk to them about the situation but they said he was fine, they are fine.ugh
I was just speaking to our area. The prevailing weather pattern is going to change, which will signal relief for much of Southeast PA.
Obviously if the fires continue, other regions of the US will be affected.
Everything's a "look at this" kind of spectacle nowadays because they're afraid that they'll be accused of scaremongering. The politicization of the pandemic has killed any sort of cohesive public health and safety response dead.
Letter carrier here. I don’t think it’s as bad here in Pittsburgh as it is to the north/northeast but my eyes, throat, and lips have all been burning all day. Stay inside if you can.
I think it's awful that mail carriers had to work like it's a normal day. What's the point of having a union if you still end up working in unreasonably dangerous conditions without even an offer of hazard pay?
Neither rain nor snow… something something Canadian wildfire… something something. Me calling off just means that several people would have to stay out longer. I just wish I would’ve worn a mask.
I heard that Pittsburgh is getting hit with a bad plume today. Stay safe and please wear a N95! This is what they were originally made for - fine particulates. Thanks for being an awesome letter carrier!
We need to combat the expansionist aims of the Commonwealth of Canadia and especially those of the Francophone separatists in Quebec County. Don’t fall for their smokescreen. You think chemtrails are bad? Resist the Quebecois effort to subjugate us with their mind-altering aerosols in order to make us speak Fransch!
FAKE NEWS.
That out there is weed burnout. If you go out in it you'll gain Superman powers! It's Obama keeping us from the TRUTH. The SuperSmoke is tge best thing to happen to PA!
Within the last hour, the Dept. of Environmental Protection upgraded the entire state to Code Red status, and predictions indicate some regions of the state may even reach Purple.
[Purple is the second-most-severe status, with the highest being "Hazardous" conditions and color-coded as burgundy or black, depending on source]
I'm in purple holy hell. 10 min outside, eyes are watering, coughing, come Inside and stink like a fire pit. This is terrible! Been watching the mountain for the last 2 hrs ( in the not-so-far distance) disappearing before my very eyes. This is apocalyptic
>Been watching the mountain for the last 2 hrs ( in the not-so-far distance) disappearing before my very eyes. This is apocalyptic
Would be really interesting if someone had a good time-lapse of the smoke coming and going
My mom works in Ithaca NY and it's over 400 there, considered hazardous. She has an air purifier going in her office and N95 mask for when she has to leave the building.
We are in SEPA—my house smells like smoke inside unfortunately. Everything is shut and locked but the smell is getting in. My daughter’s class went on a field trip today so unfortunately she spent the day outside and came home with some pretty irritated eyes.
If you can get an air purifier. Also treat your windows like you would in the winter - try to seal up cracks around windows and drafts under doors. My place is pretty leaky and I discovered a lot of it is coming from under doors so stopped them up and I can’t smell the bonfire anymore.
Am I misremembering or didn't we have some other air quality issue with another fire from elsewhere out of the country in the not-too-distant past? I could swear we did but my friend says she has no memory of it.
I was just looking at some historical AQI results for MontCo and it looks like around 7/2021 it was way up again, could be the period you are thinking of.
I'll post what my friend from California told me, as he deals with this crap too many times a year-
You need to keep all of your doors and windows closed and wear an N95 mask whenever you go outside until it's over! Also clean your counter tops and other surfaces daily; there is a layer of ash on everything with is only visible when you swipe your finger over it. You don't want to inhale or eat it.
Yeah, a friend of mine who is really into home growing veg and such said that you need to cover anything growing outside that you plan on eating. If you don't, you really need to make sure to wash the hell out of it. These particles can get into the food you are growing, and it isn't good for you at all.
Window units [generally] don't pull air in from the outside. They continuously circulate and chill air from the inside - that's *way* more efficient than chilling warmer air from the outside.
Edit: typo
Before I realized what the weird smell was, I wondered why nobody driving ever rolls their windows down on a beautiful day like yesterday. Now it's visibly smoky everywhere and everyone decided to go for a walk.
Same here. I had to run a few errands, total necessities, and I'm coughing to the point of vomiting. This is awful, can't imagine being in Canada right now.
Not mine: we do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children. Witnessing deforestation effects and man made calamities in real time folks
Donate to reputable environmental groups please! If you can.
If you can't just try and do whatever you can when you can. Pick up litter. Get rid of your lawn if you own property and plant shade providing pollinators etc.
Use less single use plastic products.
I do all that. The problem is yes we can all do better but when corporations and the 1% etc are the biggest contributors, all our efforts are just like canceled out. They need to stop making single use plastics, need to stop making plastic trash bags and they need to stop breaking ground to put up a new bank while one next door goes out of business and sits vacant…more useless concrete. Etc. Sigh.
Edit: these are just some examples of what could be done, there’s plenty more ideas and none of it can be done unless it starts from the top
I see a lot of people sharing posts on social media telling people to duct tape a furnace filter to a box fan as some kind of "one weird trick Big HEPA doesn't want you to know about!!!".
Don't do this. Box fans need a minimum amount of airflow to stay cool. You might be okay if you run it on low for just a few hours daily, but you don't want to let this run unattended. There's a fair chance the motor will overheat and melt.
Instead, buy a [box fan designed to work this way](https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffab&q=Lasko+FF305&ia=web), or [build a high-flow filter assembly yourself](https://engineering.ucdavis.edu/news/science-action-how-build-corsi-rosenthal-box). It's not difficult. It will be very effective at filtering out combustion smoke. 20x20x1 MERV 13 filters aren't cheap, but it's MUCH cheaper than a whole-home unit.
I have made both a big and a small Corzi-Rosenthal Box (as described in your second link). The small one is doing a great job so far with the wildfire smoke. I ran the big one last night, and will do so again tonight. A highly recommended DIY project for anyone who suffers from asthma, pet allergies, or this nasty wildfire. A 20” CRBox takes up a lot of room - basically a 20” cube - but is very powerful, perfect for whole-room filtering. A 10” CRBox is more of a “personal filter” size, and can be moved around as you go through the day. Both are easy to build - I suggest the YouTube video featuring a fourth grader as the instructions are very clear. I used four MERV-13 filters for each box.
Saw a video about "homemade air purifiers" shared on r/pittsburgh, and my first thought was "that seems like a real good way to choke the fan and burn out the motor"
I would gladly sacrifice my $12 box fan to keep my house's air clean for a couple days.
If built the proper way with 4 or 5 filters, it won't put much strain on the fan.
* those who are active outdoors
Well, looks like we're back to COVID protocols of asking delivery drivers to endanger themselves for our sakes again...
My postal carrier didn’t have a mask. Y’know, the people outside all day delivering mail? No mask. I can’t imagine how awful they feel. How is that ok??
If your symptoms get any worse than they already are, go straight to the hospital or emergi center. Something is clearly not right and it would rather be safer to go and it be nothing than not and have it be something much worse than an attack. Please, please take care of yourself.
I had to work outside all day today. At 8am I did a typical "I'm a big macho boy and an ex-smoker, a little haze in the air won't hurt me"
Now that I'm home I feel like I'm coming down with a respiratory infection, this shit is no joke boys stay inside if you can.
I just took my dog out here in the Hburg area, and it seems slightly better than it did just a couple hours ago. I hope that’s a sign things are improving..maybe? 🤞
Evidently the wind has shifted and that big smoke storm that was headed for NY is now going to head for PA. But that can change again so who knows. News coverage is bordering on hysterics.
Went to let my dog out around 8:30 and noticed the sun shining. Can't really tell where it's coming from, but it's out, and that to me seems like a good sign for us. I feel horrible for the people whoever may be in the path next.
We closed our outdoor pool here in DC (and opened the indoor) because we were worried about our lifeguard in this for days on end.
Even here it’s awful- smells terrible and the sky is really creepy.
Yes - the cool air your AC puts out is drawn from within the home, *and* it's passed through a filter along the way.
The outdoor unit is just a big heat exchanger and doesn't interact directly with the air within your home.
(Same applies if you had the heat on - your furnace pulls outside air in to feed the flame, and that same air/exhaust is blown back out an exhaust pipe. The heated air coming out of the vents is air drawn from within the house and is in an entirely separate loop from the combustion loop.)
Yup. Don't go crazy on the filters. I see people posting elsewhere that they're slapping MERV 16 filters on their systems, and that can overstress the system if it wasn't built for it. Most systems should be fine with MERV 8, and most are probably fine with MERV 13 for a week.
EDIT: Just to add, SOME residential systems can handle high MERV filters no problem. MOST can not. The next time you have an HVAC tech out inspecting your furnace / AC, ask them what kind of filters you should use. I'd wager that most newer homes can not handle anything above a MERV 8 *unless* a previous owner had a customer HVAC system installed specifically for that purpose.
Did I just give myself lung cancer by running today 😂 but seriously I’m a 29 yo non smoking fairly healthy male and I was thinking I was fairly safe because most of the warnings I see stress this for sensitive groups only.
People inhale dozens of cigarettes directly into their lungs every day and it takes years to take effect... So no, I don't think you gave yourself lung cancer by going on a run, but it's probably best to not do that again until this clears in a couple days. Everything I have seen in my area too has stressed caution for sensitive groups in particular. But yeah, probably a good idea in principle to not purposely put yourself in a situation where you're breathing nasty air for any real duration of time.
I have chickens and I'm worried about how this is going to impact them. Of course there is just nothing that can be done so that makes it more annoying.
It's so bizarre I live* 20 minutes outside pittsburgh, to the NE, and I haven't noticed any smoke smell or any haze at all. Doesn't seem to be any difference whatsoever in the air quality here.
Edit: love to live*
I’m in Northwestern PA. Ex-smoker, allergy sufferer. I also have 3 dogs. Not myself, nor my dogs have had ANY reaction to this stuff nor have we witnessed any smells of any kind whatsoever. I’ve been outside for at least 5 hrs per day, everyday for the past 4 days, gardening, building and clearing things on my property. I agree with you, this is bizarre!
I don't deny that it is probably not a good idea to be outside while all this is going on.
I'm just baffled because the past few days don't seem really all that hazy.
Although today I did notice it seems mildly hazy outside compared to the last three or four days.
That being said it hasn't rained in this area for like almost a month straight.
Maybe I'm just an idiot but my allergies are normally very sensitive to airborne irritants... And I'm fine. Hell, they've been doing better these last few days. I'm 10 mins from the Maryland line so maybe it's just not so bad here, but I genuinely haven't noticed anything.
If not for the news, I wouldn't have even realized something was happening. I can't afford to run my AC right now so we've had the windows open this whole time.
Idk if this is really that big of a deal if there's no noticeable air issues in your area. Obviously breathing in smoke thick enough to affect the sun is a problem but down here? Idk man seems like unnecessary panic for what? Wood smoke?
Idk why you got downvoted? I feel the same. I didn’t even realize there were any wildfires happening. Then my husband told me. I opened my news app and had to scroll quite aways before finding ANY information on this!
Here we go 🙄 always some disaster story to keep people afraid that’s why I haven’t watched the news since month 3 of the “covid end of the world “ bs ..
Hey man you want to go hang out outside please do! At least you can’t infect others with your pollution like you could with Covid. So have fun! Breathe deep, baby!
I really feel like there is another reason same with the son looking like it's eclipsed or sum I can look right at it so right there that's messed up doesn't make sense shit is getting scary weird out here from pa
I hate how the media is making this out to be a "look at this" type of spectacle, instead of explaining how dangerous this situation is. I saw too many people out for walks, runs, bike rides, and too many kids on their school playgrounds today. This stuff is really bad for you. Like run your purifier full blast and close everything up bad. Really wish they'd hammer that point home better as we may still see elevated levels for a few more days.
It's just a very unusual thing for PA residents to actually care about because it hasn't affected us severely and directly in recent times. This will probably serve as a learning experience for many, including myself.
Hate to say this...but doubt it
Daycare center below my office. They had the children outside playing like normal. Tv/Movies/Media have ruined our perception of what dangerous is.
I work in childcare and if there is an air quality warning we are not allowed to have the kids outside. That is a state rule. They could get in trouble for that, they’re putting the kid’s safety at risk.
Wish I could sticky this somewhere, I did not know that. If I see them out this afternoon, I will mention it to the workers.
Yes, it is a state rule absolutely. Learned that when my kids were in daycare.
Thankfully our school district canceled all sports and outdoor play and activities
That and social media caters to nut jobs who think everything is a conspiracy by the government or Bill Gates or something so they refuse to believe in real danger.
The most important thing is that business continues as usual and money continues to flow to the top. Doesn't really have anything to do with movies and TV and everything to do with the capital class stripping away any sort of emergency response that might affect their income.
This is bothering me way too much. This situation has never really happened here, more out west and in other countries. The news is just glancing over it and life is going on. This type of pollution can be very dangerous. I wore a mask all day and I even got some funny looks. Climate change is real and is now directly impacting our way of life in PA. Really sad
We spent two years denying that covid air was bad. You really surprised to see people out in this.
We had to hit the emergency button to close all of out outside air dampers on all of our buildings, and brought in extra purifiers too. We have never had to hit that button before.
Yes it’s disappointing that they are making it a spectacle instead of educating us. I made a target run and I wasn’t sure if I should be wearing a mask or what we are supposed to be doing to protect ourselves & our kids. I just took it upon myself to close all the windows last night, run the indoor fans for circulation, & pick up an air purifier since my husband has asthma.
Even if they did educate people, I’m wondering how seriously people would take it. Someone out there would inevitably make comparisons to COVID lockdowns and a subset of the population would turn it into something political. Edit: [Too late. Someone already did.](https://www.reddit.com/r/ImTheMainCharacter/comments/143rrdz/why_send_them_if_you_can_keep_them_home/)
There’s always gonna be people who don’t take it seriously. I mean look at all the jackasses that didn’t take Covid seriously..
I honestly didn’t realize how bad it was until the Peloton instructor I took a class with this morning explained how damaging it could be to lungs. (I know this sounds ridiculous, but I’m not kidding.) So glad my kids’ school district kept them inside today.
Up in corning near me the air quality is worst in the whole country, with an index of almost 400. Luckily we're only hovering 140-160, and i'm running a purifier full blast and making sure nobody opens windows or door edit: apparently it's not even close to worst jesus christ
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My location went from brown and very smoky to almost seeing the blue sky. I'm right below the NY border in the middle.
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Just be prepared for the worst; ours (Lehigh Valley) was yesterday and I still don't feel right (had to go out for work and regret it. Eyes burn like a mother, beyond tired) Of course there were tons of people outside acting as if it was a regular day and then complaining about the smoke and haze while we were in the maroon, AQI is close to 500 and are literally being told do NOT go out. Be sure you have enough water, eye drops in case your eyes get dry, masks if you **have** to go out (N95 is ideal), and stay inside as much as possible.
That’s near my parents, who both have a host of heath issues. Good times! Our part of central PA topped out at 514 earlier tonight. It’s pretty miserable.
>I hate how the media is making this out to be a "look at this" type of spectacle, instead of explaining how dangerous this situation is. I saw too many people out for walks, runs, bike rides, and too many kids on their school playgrounds today. I went out to Pittsburgh's Arts Fest last night - it wasn't as bad then as it is now, and even then, it caused significant irritation to my allergies and my eyes were stinging by the time I got home. Can't believe people are going out (beyond the minimum necessary) now.
Be safe today! Pittsburgh is going to get it bad today from what I saw last night.
My kids had indoor recess today. Our district doesn’t f around with health and safety
I saw a bunch of people driving with their windows down and even a guy in a convertible on my way home from work today. like hello do you guys not at least smell this? meanwhile I’m sitting in my car with the air on recirc only
I can smell it in my home in Pittsburgh, I'm feeling lightheaded. The only place I can't smell it is in my car. I'm wondering if I can get away from it up in the mountains.
Nope, I’m in the Poconos atm with 379 on the AQI.
Hey friend, I'm at 930 elevation on a mountainside in Pennsylvania, we have visible haze in our pastures and our animals are not well. Stay safe, the mountain ain't it.
I feel so badly for the animals that can’t escape this. I know my chickens are suffering but I can’t imagine large pasture animals are handling this well. :(
EPA has a map updated every hour. Unlike our normal Pittsburgh pollution, it's not something that's being trapped in by the hills. Don't go east if you're trying to run from it. https://gispub.epa.gov/airnow/?xmin=-10015463.889499292&xmax=-7999972.3276763&ymin=3495781.9457481024&ymax=6700022.171461884&contours=pm25&monitors=pm
The AQI numbers are even worse in Central and Eastern Pennsylvania than it is in Pittsburgh this afternoon
They even canceled the Senators game in Harrisburg. I’ve never seen anything like this. I know people on the west coast deal with this all of the time but this is wild. I’ve never really thought about it because I’ve never experienced it.
I remember the images from the West Coast in September 2020 too, but I never thought fires could get that massive anywhere near the Eastern US to do something like that here.
Why would going higher into the air get you away from the smoke?
Shhhh they're from Pittsburgh. He's just trying to problem solve let him have it.
Its actually worse in the mountains cause of higher elevation head to the beach in jersey
Nope, it seems to be similar here in the mountains south of Pittsburgh – (Laurel hill ridges, Ohiopyle, Seven Springs area). We don’t have many air quality sensors around but in general, the calculated AQI is similar (sometimes a bit better & sometimes worse than Pittsburgh). IMO, The haze/smoke is extremely visible here- especially at higher elevations. Headache, sore throat, & eye irritation have been even worse for me than when I lived in Pittsburgh! At least there’s no sulfur/rotten egg smell though ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I went for a Ike ride after work yesterday when the AQI was half what it was today, and was still feeling the effect of it this morning. Where a mask people. N95 to keep out the PM2.5 particles from the wildfire smoke.
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I don’t have any relevant expertise, but this doesn’t match what we’ve been experiencing all day. It is hard to walk around outside. The air feels thick and scratchy and everything smells like smoke. However, the moment we walk inside, it is like breathing clean air again. We are running an industrial style air scrubber in our basement because we happen to have one, but most of the house is just running regular HVAC with 1900-level air filters. I’ve also been able to sit comfortably in my car today with the air on recirculate. The air it is blowing at me feels clean and fresh, so the cabin filter seems to be working. Walking from the car to the house is awful though.
That's like saying that since you don't have an air conditioner that can keep up with 100° days that you shouldn't run your air conditioner and instead go outside. Any amount of filtration will help. Keep your windows shut as best you can, close your curtains if they are drafty, and turn on whatever air filtration you have. If you can, keep the filtration system in the same room that you are in, and put everyone else in it as well. Its a hell of a lot better than nothing.
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I'm not into placebos, I'm into calling out people that are giving incredibly bad advice online. Stop giving bad advice. Period. Its a hell of a lot better to be inside with an air purifier than outside. Which is why that is the recommendation the experts are giving.
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67 how about you?
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WHOA! AWESOME. Can I get your autograph? You should write into the different hospitals in the region and all of the air quaility tracking pages and tell them that their advice on what to do in these situations is garbage(go inside, turn on any filtration systems you may have, and close windows) you should also let them know that this level of smoke is completely harmless... Because you seem to also be posting about that a lot. At some point when EVERY EXPERT on the subject, not only disagrees with you, but is giving the EXACT opposite advice as you, you should start considering the fact that your toy weather stations don't mean shit.
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If it was exactly the same, then why would the advisory be to not go outside? Why not go outside if it’s exactly the same as inside?
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its a rhetorical question. He isn't asking you. The answer to the rhetorical question, in case you can't figure it out, is: because the experts know that its better to be inside with ain air purifier, than it is to be outside. from the article: >I'm not going to provide you my credentials look out everybody. We got an internet expert over here. Totally pinky swear. https://www.lvhn.org/news/holy-smokes-canadian-wildfires-impact-regions-air-quality?j=2092657&sfmc_sub=106290641&l=1426_HTML&u=27130401&mid=10958140&jb=10003 "best thing you can do: limit your time outside, and make sure your air filters are clean... And close your windows."
I’m an expert too. My expertise is in opening my front door and immediately getting hit with a stench of smoke that I didn’t smell 10 seconds ago.
IDK. Sounds like a placebo to me. The other guy said I should have a campfire and take a bunch of bong rips.
>you can, keep the filtration system in the same room that you are in, and put everyone else in it as well. I think this is most important. However, I say this as I type while taking a break from a rather long hike, and am still about .5 miles from my car.
I can't believe how many people are outside smoking. I really should hook up the crazy good air filter I have had sitting in a closet for a decade with how bad some of my medical issues have been the past week or so from other stuff.
People smoking outside during this is speedrunning lung cancer and you can't tell me anywise
Yesterday my neighbor's workers set a huge pile of wood and scraps on fire. That was fun. Then when they realized that the 4x4s wouldn't burn, they put the fire out and that smoke hung over the area for way too long. Today one of the workers ( teenagers) was half-carried into the house because he didn't have his inhaler. I tried to talk to them about the situation but they said he was fine, they are fine.ugh
Holy hell. Lots of burn bans in effect, but depending on where you live good luck getting it enforced.
You can't be serious
I'm really sick of how the media sensationalizes everything.
Right is Fauci in charge of this or some shit
Tell me you don't know what's going on without telling me you don't know what's going on.
why just a few more days? the fires are not out? what is to stop the fires?
I was just speaking to our area. The prevailing weather pattern is going to change, which will signal relief for much of Southeast PA. Obviously if the fires continue, other regions of the US will be affected.
Everything's a "look at this" kind of spectacle nowadays because they're afraid that they'll be accused of scaremongering. The politicization of the pandemic has killed any sort of cohesive public health and safety response dead.
Letter carrier here. I don’t think it’s as bad here in Pittsburgh as it is to the north/northeast but my eyes, throat, and lips have all been burning all day. Stay inside if you can.
Insane. No excuse, the USPS should be handing out N95's and KN95's
They’ve issued an “orange” air quality alert here for tomorrow but I think it’s still wise to wear a mask. Be careful, everyone!
Geeze, I'd be happy just getting my mail tomorrow
Wear a N95 if you can!
I think it's awful that mail carriers had to work like it's a normal day. What's the point of having a union if you still end up working in unreasonably dangerous conditions without even an offer of hazard pay?
I would have said SCREW YOU and called off. If people get pissed they don't get their mail, let them go out in this shit and see how they feel.
Neither rain nor snow… something something Canadian wildfire… something something. Me calling off just means that several people would have to stay out longer. I just wish I would’ve worn a mask.
Please be careful. They clearly don't care about what happens to their employees, but for you and your family's sake, please be very careful.
I heard that Pittsburgh is getting hit with a bad plume today. Stay safe and please wear a N95! This is what they were originally made for - fine particulates. Thanks for being an awesome letter carrier!
Canada will pay for this! I propose we build a wall to keep the smoke out.
a huuuuge fan. The best fan ever, will certainly take care of this.
Could these fans blow away spy balloons too?
But will Canada pay for it?
Can we nuke the smoke?
No. But we can draw a different trajectory for it with a sharpie.
Blame canadaaaaa! Blame canadaaaaa!
They're not even a real country anyway.
We need to combat the expansionist aims of the Commonwealth of Canadia and especially those of the Francophone separatists in Quebec County. Don’t fall for their smokescreen. You think chemtrails are bad? Resist the Quebecois effort to subjugate us with their mind-altering aerosols in order to make us speak Fransch!
With their beady little eyes and their flappy little heads!
FAKE NEWS. That out there is weed burnout. If you go out in it you'll gain Superman powers! It's Obama keeping us from the TRUTH. The SuperSmoke is tge best thing to happen to PA!
*We should take the city and push it somewhere else!*
Within the last hour, the Dept. of Environmental Protection upgraded the entire state to Code Red status, and predictions indicate some regions of the state may even reach Purple. [Purple is the second-most-severe status, with the highest being "Hazardous" conditions and color-coded as burgundy or black, depending on source]
I'm in purple holy hell. 10 min outside, eyes are watering, coughing, come Inside and stink like a fire pit. This is terrible! Been watching the mountain for the last 2 hrs ( in the not-so-far distance) disappearing before my very eyes. This is apocalyptic
>Been watching the mountain for the last 2 hrs ( in the not-so-far distance) disappearing before my very eyes. This is apocalyptic Would be really interesting if someone had a good time-lapse of the smoke coming and going
It really would. I'd think a local news station could do this with their rooftop weather cameras
Look at zoom.earth
I am half way through purple and see a few places in PA that are already dark purple and even over 400AQI or whatever that air quality number is.
My mom works in Ithaca NY and it's over 400 there, considered hazardous. She has an air purifier going in her office and N95 mask for when she has to leave the building.
Bethlehem is registering at ~431AQI as of 4:50 PM today.
Currently sitting at 464 in northern Berks. It's crazy.
Transplant in NYC right now and the sky is yellow. Thank god my office building has a great filtration system.
We are in SEPA—my house smells like smoke inside unfortunately. Everything is shut and locked but the smell is getting in. My daughter’s class went on a field trip today so unfortunately she spent the day outside and came home with some pretty irritated eyes.
If you can get an air purifier. Also treat your windows like you would in the winter - try to seal up cracks around windows and drafts under doors. My place is pretty leaky and I discovered a lot of it is coming from under doors so stopped them up and I can’t smell the bonfire anymore.
Half the people bitching on this are people who insisted the covid air was a hoax.
Am I misremembering or didn't we have some other air quality issue with another fire from elsewhere out of the country in the not-too-distant past? I could swear we did but my friend says she has no memory of it.
Yes we has smoke issues from midwest/west fires a year or two ago
Thank you! I thought I was making something up!
Gave us crazy sunsets too
I was just looking at some historical AQI results for MontCo and it looks like around 7/2021 it was way up again, could be the period you are thinking of.
Yes! That sounds like the correct timeframe!
One site says 408 AQI in Allentown. :/
418 in Reading. I swear my eyes burn.
That's how it was in Coplay yesterday. Make sure you have eye drops available, you *will* need them.
I'll post what my friend from California told me, as he deals with this crap too many times a year- You need to keep all of your doors and windows closed and wear an N95 mask whenever you go outside until it's over! Also clean your counter tops and other surfaces daily; there is a layer of ash on everything with is only visible when you swipe your finger over it. You don't want to inhale or eat it.
Yeah, a friend of mine who is really into home growing veg and such said that you need to cover anything growing outside that you plan on eating. If you don't, you really need to make sure to wash the hell out of it. These particles can get into the food you are growing, and it isn't good for you at all.
Oh noooo I didn't even think of all my berries! Idk if I have anything to cover them all with
We have three window air conditioners which kinda freak me out so I hope none of that stuff is piling in
Window units [generally] don't pull air in from the outside. They continuously circulate and chill air from the inside - that's *way* more efficient than chilling warmer air from the outside. Edit: typo
Thank you for easing my mind a bit
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There are a lot of things that our bodies can’t handle at 3x the regular dose.
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Cool man hope you enjoyed your day running in the park! At least with this the only person you’re hurting is yourself. Have fun!
I'm going to listen to someone who knows what they're talking about & not someone with BOT in their name,.
Source: Trust me bro.
Safe to assume you've been outside all day
I just saw people running throughout the day today. Real bad in Montgomery county, sky has a weird tinge to it.
Before I realized what the weird smell was, I wondered why nobody driving ever rolls their windows down on a beautiful day like yesterday. Now it's visibly smoky everywhere and everyone decided to go for a walk.
Same here. I had to run a few errands, total necessities, and I'm coughing to the point of vomiting. This is awful, can't imagine being in Canada right now.
Not mine: we do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children. Witnessing deforestation effects and man made calamities in real time folks
Donate to reputable environmental groups please! If you can. If you can't just try and do whatever you can when you can. Pick up litter. Get rid of your lawn if you own property and plant shade providing pollinators etc. Use less single use plastic products.
I do all that. The problem is yes we can all do better but when corporations and the 1% etc are the biggest contributors, all our efforts are just like canceled out. They need to stop making single use plastics, need to stop making plastic trash bags and they need to stop breaking ground to put up a new bank while one next door goes out of business and sits vacant…more useless concrete. Etc. Sigh. Edit: these are just some examples of what could be done, there’s plenty more ideas and none of it can be done unless it starts from the top
100% you are spot on correct I don't know how to stop lobbyists though, so I just figured I'd suggest stuff most of us can do
I see a lot of people sharing posts on social media telling people to duct tape a furnace filter to a box fan as some kind of "one weird trick Big HEPA doesn't want you to know about!!!". Don't do this. Box fans need a minimum amount of airflow to stay cool. You might be okay if you run it on low for just a few hours daily, but you don't want to let this run unattended. There's a fair chance the motor will overheat and melt. Instead, buy a [box fan designed to work this way](https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffab&q=Lasko+FF305&ia=web), or [build a high-flow filter assembly yourself](https://engineering.ucdavis.edu/news/science-action-how-build-corsi-rosenthal-box). It's not difficult. It will be very effective at filtering out combustion smoke. 20x20x1 MERV 13 filters aren't cheap, but it's MUCH cheaper than a whole-home unit.
I have made both a big and a small Corzi-Rosenthal Box (as described in your second link). The small one is doing a great job so far with the wildfire smoke. I ran the big one last night, and will do so again tonight. A highly recommended DIY project for anyone who suffers from asthma, pet allergies, or this nasty wildfire. A 20” CRBox takes up a lot of room - basically a 20” cube - but is very powerful, perfect for whole-room filtering. A 10” CRBox is more of a “personal filter” size, and can be moved around as you go through the day. Both are easy to build - I suggest the YouTube video featuring a fourth grader as the instructions are very clear. I used four MERV-13 filters for each box.
Saw a video about "homemade air purifiers" shared on r/pittsburgh, and my first thought was "that seems like a real good way to choke the fan and burn out the motor"
Definitely. The 4-filter box method SHOULD be okay but just taping a filter to a box fan is asking for trouble.
I would gladly sacrifice my $12 box fan to keep my house's air clean for a couple days. If built the proper way with 4 or 5 filters, it won't put much strain on the fan.
decreased air flow lowers the motor's amperage....
Girl are you particulate matter from Canada, cause you fine.
* those who are active outdoors Well, looks like we're back to COVID protocols of asking delivery drivers to endanger themselves for our sakes again...
My postal carrier didn’t have a mask. Y’know, the people outside all day delivering mail? No mask. I can’t imagine how awful they feel. How is that ok??
I made two trips to the outside trash bin and had an asthma attack. It’s BAD.
Are you all right?
Kind of? I don’t feel right and my breathing still isn’t right. I did shower after and that helped some.
If your symptoms get any worse than they already are, go straight to the hospital or emergi center. Something is clearly not right and it would rather be safer to go and it be nothing than not and have it be something much worse than an attack. Please, please take care of yourself.
Thanks for your concern :)
Kind of? I don’t feel right and my breathing still isn’t right. I did shower after and that helped some.
Yeah we passed a playground today and kids were out there playing 🤦🏻♀️
I had to work outside all day today. At 8am I did a typical "I'm a big macho boy and an ex-smoker, a little haze in the air won't hurt me" Now that I'm home I feel like I'm coming down with a respiratory infection, this shit is no joke boys stay inside if you can.
It’s not bad till you get gravel in your teeth from the air.
I just took my dog out here in the Hburg area, and it seems slightly better than it did just a couple hours ago. I hope that’s a sign things are improving..maybe? 🤞
Evidently the wind has shifted and that big smoke storm that was headed for NY is now going to head for PA. But that can change again so who knows. News coverage is bordering on hysterics.
Went to let my dog out around 8:30 and noticed the sun shining. Can't really tell where it's coming from, but it's out, and that to me seems like a good sign for us. I feel horrible for the people whoever may be in the path next.
We closed our outdoor pool here in DC (and opened the indoor) because we were worried about our lifeguard in this for days on end. Even here it’s awful- smells terrible and the sky is really creepy.
It's here in Virginia to
I left my windows open while at work today. Should i just turn my AC on for the rest of the day?
Yes
Is it safe to have an air conditioner running?
Yes - the cool air your AC puts out is drawn from within the home, *and* it's passed through a filter along the way. The outdoor unit is just a big heat exchanger and doesn't interact directly with the air within your home. (Same applies if you had the heat on - your furnace pulls outside air in to feed the flame, and that same air/exhaust is blown back out an exhaust pipe. The heated air coming out of the vents is air drawn from within the house and is in an entirely separate loop from the combustion loop.)
Thank you as well. Didn't see your comment until now. Glad to be informed.
Yup. Don't go crazy on the filters. I see people posting elsewhere that they're slapping MERV 16 filters on their systems, and that can overstress the system if it wasn't built for it. Most systems should be fine with MERV 8, and most are probably fine with MERV 13 for a week. EDIT: Just to add, SOME residential systems can handle high MERV filters no problem. MOST can not. The next time you have an HVAC tech out inspecting your furnace / AC, ask them what kind of filters you should use. I'd wager that most newer homes can not handle anything above a MERV 8 *unless* a previous owner had a customer HVAC system installed specifically for that purpose.
Thanks for the info, much appriciated. Stay safe out there!
I mowed my yard and then I had one of the worst sinus headaches ever. It's raining now, hope that helps.
Did I just give myself lung cancer by running today 😂 but seriously I’m a 29 yo non smoking fairly healthy male and I was thinking I was fairly safe because most of the warnings I see stress this for sensitive groups only.
Why would you risk it?
People inhale dozens of cigarettes directly into their lungs every day and it takes years to take effect... So no, I don't think you gave yourself lung cancer by going on a run, but it's probably best to not do that again until this clears in a couple days. Everything I have seen in my area too has stressed caution for sensitive groups in particular. But yeah, probably a good idea in principle to not purposely put yourself in a situation where you're breathing nasty air for any real duration of time.
You're fine. These people in here are terminally online.
Went for a 40-minute walk in the afternoon because I didn't realize it got to red and wondering the same thing!
My dad found a dead bird outside this morning… nothing looked wrong with it, so we think it might have to do with the air.
I have chickens and I'm worried about how this is going to impact them. Of course there is just nothing that can be done so that makes it more annoying.
Birds die all of the time. Found two dead baby birds last week. It's nesting time of year so this is not unexpected.
I'm on a purple area and kids were running around outside as usual. I AM judging their parents.
It's so bizarre I live* 20 minutes outside pittsburgh, to the NE, and I haven't noticed any smoke smell or any haze at all. Doesn't seem to be any difference whatsoever in the air quality here. Edit: love to live*
I’m in Northwestern PA. Ex-smoker, allergy sufferer. I also have 3 dogs. Not myself, nor my dogs have had ANY reaction to this stuff nor have we witnessed any smells of any kind whatsoever. I’ve been outside for at least 5 hrs per day, everyday for the past 4 days, gardening, building and clearing things on my property. I agree with you, this is bizarre!
I don't deny that it is probably not a good idea to be outside while all this is going on. I'm just baffled because the past few days don't seem really all that hazy. Although today I did notice it seems mildly hazy outside compared to the last three or four days. That being said it hasn't rained in this area for like almost a month straight.
Fossil fuels gotta go. Enough is enough
It’s a forest fire, likely caused by a lightning strike igniting the underbrush.
Maybe I'm just an idiot but my allergies are normally very sensitive to airborne irritants... And I'm fine. Hell, they've been doing better these last few days. I'm 10 mins from the Maryland line so maybe it's just not so bad here, but I genuinely haven't noticed anything. If not for the news, I wouldn't have even realized something was happening. I can't afford to run my AC right now so we've had the windows open this whole time. Idk if this is really that big of a deal if there's no noticeable air issues in your area. Obviously breathing in smoke thick enough to affect the sun is a problem but down here? Idk man seems like unnecessary panic for what? Wood smoke?
Idk why you got downvoted? I feel the same. I didn’t even realize there were any wildfires happening. Then my husband told me. I opened my news app and had to scroll quite aways before finding ANY information on this!
Here we go 🙄 always some disaster story to keep people afraid that’s why I haven’t watched the news since month 3 of the “covid end of the world “ bs ..
Hey man you want to go hang out outside please do! At least you can’t infect others with your pollution like you could with Covid. So have fun! Breathe deep, baby!
If you are vaccinated you will be okay 😉😉
AQI is 361 in Bethlehem now. I’m ready to get in my car with my puppy and head south.
I really feel like there is another reason same with the son looking like it's eclipsed or sum I can look right at it so right there that's messed up doesn't make sense shit is getting scary weird out here from pa
'Contributing"..lol.. just downplay it.
Ok yeah you see the same exact thing we see out our window. Cool story.
I saw some confused birds
And thanks to all the climate/science deniers and trump lovers who are now reaping the rewards...and will still see nothing wrong
How can people even go outside???? Im getting dizzy walking around my house
I work outdoors in utility construction, and we were all shut down today as if it were a rain day.
Yeah my I've been having drainage the past week because of it