In advance of the air quality warnings, I decided to take in some night air with the kiddo at a local park on the waterfront last Sunday. Particulate matter from far-off wildfires hung high in the sky, beautiful and ominous in the setting sun. By morning we would be showered with ash.
Earlier in the day, the harbor festival was underway on the boardwalk, but between the brutal heat and my lack of disposable funds for artistic nick-nacks, we didn't make it. As the sun went down it got really nice out, so we stopped by the waterfront, then crossed over to the boardwalk later anyway.
The air quality warning is due to a lot of large wildfires burning in Idaho and Montana. The winds are spreading the smoke and ash all across Cascadia, with even more smoke settling over the Midwest. Our area is not getting the worst of it, by a long shot.
NOT clouds
On the night we went walking, the air was still clear at ground level, but that beautiful sunset was a warning.
The sky is red now, and a thin layer of ash is slowly covering everything outside.
It could be worse, and in a lot of places, it is. The scenic Columbia Gorge is engulfed in flame and smoke, apparently the result of a 15 year old playing with fireworks. The fire jumped the Hood River overnight, and both sides of the Gorge are burning now.
photo by James Kling
But that's just one in a list of well over 100 wildfires currently burning throughout the Cascadian bioregion. Olympia (like Seattle) is in its second day of smoke-eclipsed sunlight and raining ash, and we are nowhere near an actual fire. My heart goes out to the victims of this climate change disaster.
(from the NOAA Wildfire Smoke Map)
- The best way to help is to donate to the Red Cross Disaster Relief fund.
- To help with the Columbia Gorge specifically, you can donate to Hood River County Search & Rescue through Friends of the Columbia Gorge