Wildfires

It’s not just California that is being affected by wildfires, but the entire West Coast.  As if we don’t have enough to deal with right now!  Woke up this morning to some decidedly poor air quality – so very smoky smelling.  It was so bad that it smelt like my entire house had just undergone a self-cleaning oven cycle run, which I had coincidentally just run last night (and had me worried that it had kept on running overnight!).  This couldn’t have come at a worse time – I was planning a day off work tomorrow, with the aim of going to either Mount Rainier or Olympic National Park.  But I’ve decided to postpone until a clearer day, since there is no point going when the views are going to be hazy and/or obscured by smoke and the air quality makes outdoor exercise not recommended.  Even though the webcam views I’ve just checked at these places don’t seem that bad, when I went for a drive at lunch it was extremely noticeable.  We’ve got a couple of severe weather alerts right now – an air quality alert for smoke and a red flag warning.  Gusty winds, low humidity and warm temperatures  have made for the imminent threat of fire.  And currently there are a lot of fires in East and Central Washington, the smoke of which is being blown into West Washington where I am.  Of course, since all of the fires are on the West Coast and not happening in battleground States or pro-Trump States, then can expect absolutely no significant government or federal support for dealing with this environmental catastrophe.  Probably not even a mention by Trump.  What is amazing also is that Denver, not really that far away, is under a winter weather advisory.  The weather extremes in the US are just ridiculous and getting more exaggerated each year that passes.  This is also where I regret not living somewhere where I can see the sunset – the smoky atmosphere makes for some stunning colors as the sun dips below the horizon.