The Great Smoke

Global Warming is real everyone.

We are all connected on this planet.

These are the lessons I hope everyone in the Northeastern United States learned this week. Sadly, we have short memories, living in the moment.

On Wednesday, wildfires in the province of Quebec blew smoke hundreds of miles away and blanketed the New York and Philadelphia region. The pictures are apocalyptic. Photo cred to Diana Puertes who shared these on Facebook.

Jaw dropping.

Today is Sunday. I've been thinking about this post since our area was became sepia toned on Wednesday. It feels historic -- or at least feels as if I hope it is historic versus this is just the beginning of what we should be expecting on a more frequent basis, after all as a friend from California pointed out, "now you know what we go through" during fire season each year. The big difference is, we were not in danger of losing our home due to the forest fires because they were taking place in another country.

However, about 30 minutes away forest fires were ablaze in Jackson, NJ. Earlier in the week, there was a forest fire in the Pine Barrons, and yesterday I heard of a third one in Browns Mills, NJ.

Something I had not appreciated before this week was that low humidity contributes to forest fires because the air is so dry. In this area, we tend to have the opposite problem -- days with humidity you swear is over 100%, even though that is impossible. I even call those low humidity sunny days as we are having perfect Southern California weather, not realizing the same weather that is enjoyable for spending outdoors is also the same weather that contributes to forest fires. 

On Tuesday afternoon I sat on Daphne's screened in porch noting a hint of burning in the air. I even commented we could smell a bit of the Canadian forest fire. I drove home with the top down on my convertible and put on my running clothes while I waited for Don to come home. In the hour it took him to come home it was obvious it was too smoky to go out for a run. After dinner, I was comfortable enough to go for a walk in the park. I could smell the honeysuckle bushes. I truly thought we were past the worst of it.

Then Wednesday came. Don rode his bike to work in Newtown, PA. By the time I left for work, I could smell the smoke again. As the day continued, it was getting very difficult to breathe -- even in the small stretches from one building to another on campus. By 3:00, it was difficult to breathe inside (I know someone had their windows open when it "wasn't so bad outside"). I left at 4:15.

Meanwhile, I was trying to convince Don to let me pick him up. At that point, it wasn't that bad in Bucks County, PA, though the images coming out of New York City were horrific! The Yankees and Phillies both cancelled their games due to unhealthy air. I learned that we should pay attention to the AQI -- Air Quality Index. The green zone is ideal, orange is moderate, as the color gets darker, the conditions are even more dangerous. 

Delaware River at 6:45 pm. Sunset is 8:20 pm.

Here is where I should have taken more notes, and more screenshots. I know the AQI was at 490 in Allentown, PA where Ashley goes to college (though she is home for the summer). That's on a scale where 500 is the worst. We were in a maroon zone, but I don't remember exactly how high it got. I remember mid 400s, though it is certainly not a competition. Throughout Wednesday and Thursday I compared our numbers with places also tagged on my Weather App. Columbus, OH. Florence, Italy. Anaheim, CA. I looked at the map and saw Quebec was in the green (good) zone while we were getting darker and darker.

Fortunately, a co-worker of Don's gave him (but not his bike) a ride home. He drove me to book club in Bucks County, PA (which was still not as bad as by us, seems the valley around the Delaware River acted as a buffer), and retrieved his car.

The next day we were cautious, but as the weather continued to improve we realized we were past the worst of it. At least for this time.

The whole experience reminded me of a scene out of "The Crown," the Netflix show depicting the reign of Queen Elizabeth. In season 1, episode 4 they had an episode about the Great Smog when London was blanketed by a smog that lasted for FIVE DAYS from December 5-9, 1952. People died. No one could see. It was unimaginable, at least until we were living in a giant cloud of smoke for a day. A decade later clean air acts were enacted to ensure healthier air in the future.

One story I read from NBC News chastised our part of the country for not having safety measures in place akin to the ones on the West Coast. See, they have known about the AQI a lot longer than I have and plan their activities around it.

As the smoke was too thick to think, advice given was to dust off our N95 masks and wear them outdoors. Forest fire smoke is thicker than COVID molecules, so actually any mask will help, but the N95 is the best. Advice I didn't heed, but should have. Advice I hope I don't need to know again.

The skies cleared and outdoor activities returned. May we learn our lessons. May we continue to pray for firefighters and those impacted by the fires. 

Friday night

Saturday Night