CZU Fire Smoke Locks us Down to Hot and Sweaty Indoors — Kudos to Firefighter Heroes
Kudo to real-life heroes—firefighters and similar personnel battling blazes to save homes and lives, an incredibly tough and risky job. Two thumbs up all of you.
Forest Fires in California, plus Health Hazards of Smoke and HEPA Air Purifier to Manage It
Update 7 PM: AQI back up to 420 (might have been over 500), four medical-grade IQAir HealthPro Plus air purifiers @AMAZON are losing the smoke battle indoors... locked inside at 90°F and no A/C. And these are filters able to filter 3X to 10X the air of just about all other products.
Update 8 PM: one minute outside and I stank so badly that I had to take a shower. My face felt irritated and I have a mild stomach ache. For whatever reason, my local area is taking the brunt of the smoke for many miles around, with the air 4X to 5X cleaner just a few miles away down in Palo Alto.
Update 9 AM: the smoke is far better (AQI down to ~170)—still not good and house must remain closed, but massive improvement. The fog has moved in, and that should let firefighters get the upper hand.
Update Aug 26: fresh air! As good as it gets. The recent fog let the firefighters get things under control, and fresh ocean fog has rolled in at least to the north, and pushed away everything. The air is now as good as it gets here for this time of year (AQI range 4 to 20).
Update Aug 30: things have settled down to a pattern of slightly smoky/smelly air to pretty good, but no clean air for 3 days now.
Update Sept 01: nasty acrid stuff today sufficient to irritate nasal passages and skin with as little as a one-minute exposure. We are locked up in inside with the HEPA filters going.