If you've been following the news (and live in the US) you probably know there's a massive, slowly migrating forest fire which has spread from Eagle Creek, Oregon up into Washington. It only just recently crossed the Columbia River, and shows no signs of abating any time soon.
As you can see, air quality is terrible. The sky is all smoke and ash. Big pieces of ash too, which impact my sunglasses. The smaller bits get in my eyes while riding. I've got some goggles on order to solve that problem.
The air filter mask works a treat. I've seen Chinese citizens wearing them to handle the terrible smog in cities and figured they must be onto something. Seriously, look at this sun. Does it look normal to you?
No it doesn't. In my expert technical opinion: shit's fucked. Visibility is poor, you can see anything far enough away has a greyish faded quality to it. However bad it looks, believe me, it's worse to breathe (and get in your eyes). I've held off on buying a gas mask or anything elaborate like that until I see whether it's going to clear up in a matter of days, or weeks.
This is not the Oregon I know. It really underscores the importance of air quality, and the danger of increasingly frequent forest fires as average conditions around the world grow steadily hotter and drier. Look at this shit! It's one step removed from Silent Hill:
How am I supposed to enjoy riding my bike in these conditions? I can't. Presumably it's worse for people who work outdoors or who don't have secure housing, so tomorrow I'm gonna pick up a bunch more of these filter masks to hand out to anybody who looks like they need one.
This shit has me concerned. You can't see because of the helmet, shades and mask but I am making a concerned face. My brow is so furrowed all like ( ಠ_ಠ) and I'll be monitoring all news concerning the fire very closely going forward. Props to the fire fighters and in particular the brave smoke jumpers risking their lives to put a stop to this hot mess, even as we speak.