No Cal jellies: how have the wildfires in your area been affecting you?

My son and his family are ok but the air is very bad.

I went in the kitchen around 6 A.M and was shocked to hear what I thought was the water distillation machine whirring like mad. It turned out to be one of the air purifiers that the wife retrieved from one of the garages to plug into the kitchen after listening to last night’s 11 o’clock news about excessive particulates in the air. But I swear, there’s not a whiff of smoke today in the air, and I’m here on the deck where the thermometer reads 72 degrees under sunny skies with a balmy breeze. I’m more interested in how Jeruba’s making out.

The air quality here is horrible and has been for days. Every now and then the wind gives us a break, but then the smell comes back and the smokiness resumes. I was in Reno for most of last week, but the air quality there was awful too (the smoke from these fires is dirtying the air as far away as Montana and Wyoming). So in addition to wearing a mask for COVID, it’s now advisable to wear one for the smoke (and some masks that are good for smoke are no good for COVID. What a mess). The Carmel Fire in Monterey County directly threatens our vacation home.

Every year we beat our record for wildfires. Of the 10 largest fires in California history, only 1 occurred before 2003.

My friend’s cousin lives near Santa Rosa, and he’s ready to evacuate.
If he does, he’ll be taking 3 dogs, 2 cats, and perhaps 20 chickens.

Here in the South Bay, I’m in a state of considerable anxiety. The air is smoky outside, the house is closed up and feeling stale, and it’s too warm for comfort (we have fans, no AC). The nearest fires are not far off in the east and getting closer, and others are moving toward us from the south and west. I still don’t know where we’d go if an evacuation order comes; my first idea was a terrible one. The very thought of trying to move my husband is exhausting. And getting trapped on any freeway seems like a special sort of hell. I’d rather suffocate in my own house.

All my family is on the East Coast. Friends in this area are in pretty much the same situation as we are. One couple we know have already been forced to leave their home in La Honda.

I am feeling lethargic and dull-witted. I’m not confident of making good decisions.

My sons are apparently not looking at this situation as one that calls for sobriety.

I’m pretty sure that the things I’ve packed will have to be abandoned. So is it better not to take them at all? Might they survive if I leave them here?

I don’t know whether important papers are better off with us, in bags we can’t carry far or protect, or in a semi-durable portable safe in the basement. I’m feeling too paralyzed to collect them all and put them in it.

If we go out on the street on foot, assuming we even could, we will be highly vulnerable by proximity to a vulnerable (and predatory) encamped street population near the freeways and downtown, exposed to heavily polluted air, and without power to run life-sustaining equipment. If we take our cars separately, we won’t be together, and they could become a liability at any moment. If we take one car, we can’t fit much of anything besides the four of us. If we stay put, we may either burn up or wind up being pulled out empty-handed.

So I’m on Fluther thinking about language and podcasts and ballots. Any minute now I might be fulfilling my intention to post a recipe or describe a book I’ve read recently.

Thanks for your kind thoughts.

My sister is evacuating.

@Dutchess_lll, from—?

@Jeruba

Who lives with you in addition to your husband?

Two grown sons; one moved back when shelter-in-place took effect. Long story, not particularly useful to go into.

Oh, Jeruba!

My wife just left the deck after admonishing me for leaving the back door open. She says she can feel the bad air in her throat. I swear I cannot smell or see anything out of the ordinary. I truly adore my wife, but she’s the biggest worry wart ever. She doesn’t think I’ve noticed, but I’m not allowed to be out of her sight for an hour.

@Jeruba You have a grown son living with you? Can he drive? At the very least, you must find the muscle power useful.

I am in the Northern Northern California.
There is so much smoke, the Sun is a red ball.
My back deck is lightly covered with ash.

@filmfann

Don’t you live in or near Redding?

How far are you from the nearest fire?

I am near Redding, on Mount Lassen.
Last week there was a fire about 5 minutes from my home. There was a much larger fire east of us, about 30 minutes away.

Smoke was really bad two days ago. Today is a little better.

Not first or second hand. . . . Friend from high school has two sons in the area. One son evacuated; he was up in hills and second has everything packed but is in a city center. First son sent pictures of fire coming up the hill as he left.

I have nothing useful to add other than I hope all you Jellies will be okay and I’m sorry you’re dealing with this.

My grandsons can’t go out in the pool, because of the air quality. Our cars, trash cans and patios are covered in ash. DIL has to be driven work (inside) every day, and the air is smoky during the trip. (Sacramento area).

@Jeruba…from the San Diego area.

I mean Santa Cruz.

I swear y’all’s smoke is affecting us here in Kansas.

You are correct, a map of the smoke trail includes Kansas.

Cool. Mt St Helens gave us some cool sunsets too.

Things are looking better around here. The sky is clearing up, more blue than brown or gray, and the outside temperature is in the seventies. I was able to have windows open last night and reduce the indoor stuffiness a little.

The nearest evacuation area is still only about 6 miles from us, but there are no new orders.

I’m not unpacking my bags yet, though.

The thing is, I expect we’re going to be going through this cycle again and again with the change of climate. And any given time, we may not be among the lucky ones.

But we do know that some pretty major outfits, such as Google, Apple, Intel, Cisco, eBay, and other well-known NASDAQ names, have a big investment in protecting this region. That is a plus in this respect.

@Jeruba So happy to hear things are better today!!