the forecast is not looking good

[amw]

You remember my last couple of photos i posted with me or my bike against some blue sky? Yeah, they're the only couple of days in the last month or so that we actually had a blue sky. For the rest it's been wildfire smog. And i'm not talking, like, pretty orange sunset kinda smog. I'm talking there are literal flakes of ash floating in the air,

Comments

[geminiwench]

The last few years in the inland north west "fire season" went from being 2 weeks of intermittent light smoke and haze... with only a major fire breakout every few years.... to 6 weeks of choking smoke and fires EVERYWHERE... but don't worry folks ITS NORMAL! JUST GO ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS.

I've lived here for almost 40 years.
It is NOT normal. Its fuckin' awful where it feels apocalyptic for at least 4 weeks a year... MINIMUM now. Last year was a pretty mild fire season around Spokane which is probably the only reason every liberal in Eastern Wa didn't commit mass suicide going... "Trump? Plus COVID?! PLUS FIRE AND ASH IN THE SKY EVERY DAY!?! I CAN'T TAKE THIS ANYMORE!!!!"

[amw]

Yeah, talking to the locals here they say this year isn't as bad as 2003, but it's worse than 2017. They get the sense the frequency or intensity is increasing too. It's just so frustrating that when you're living in the middle of it, because there's basically nothing you can do. Can't stop the fires. Can't change the wind direction. Can't go anywhere to escape it (at least, nowhere close by).

[geminiwench]

Down where I am it is just bad haze and the smell of smoke... but not ash raining from the sky which was what 2017, 2018, and 2019 were like.

Eastern Montana, Wyoming, North/South Dakota, Minnesota, and the Canadian equivalents now have 2 to 4 weeks of DEEP subzero temps in the -20sF (-28C) to the -50sF (-45C) range... and the PNW now has these crazy 'heat domes' like this year of 105-120F (40C-49C) for 2 weeks.

Nothing is "normal" anymore.
I hope things clear up soon... for you, and for everyone.

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[nahele_101]

I really do worry for the future. The fires are worse, and the forests are NOT returning like they used to. Shit is gonna get worse.

As to the laser eye surgery, I feel ya. I'm gonna get that in the next few months. I've been sitting on the cash for it, but want to wait until my vacations that are scheduled are done (which will be beginning of October.) I am off from vacations until mid January. The recovery time is about a day or two, so want to set my schedule around those. My SIL got it done in Argentina a few years ago, and said "it was the best decision ever!"

[amw]

Only a day or two! Wow, i thought it was more like a couple of weeks. That's definitely made me more inclined to give it a shot. For the current fire/smoke issue i think glasses is an okay stopgap, but it sure would be nice to wake up in the morning and just be able to see clearly.

[bennuheron]

It didn't have to be this way....

[meowmensteen]

It looks like the mountains are the only thing protecting Seattle right now from the smoke. I would not want to ride in that shit.

I've been thinking about the eye surgery too. I don't even know how much it costs these days, but if pandemics become the norm, I don't want to keep doing the glasses mask thing anymore. Contacts are way too much preparation for me in the morning. The thing I spend the most time doing when I get up is brushing my teeth, and that's about my limit.

[amw]

I heard this weekend the wind changed direction so it'll be going down to Vancouver and Seattle. Hopefully doesn't last too long over there. It's really wild to be in the middle of it for weeks on end. Makes life feel sort of dream-like, like it upsets your circadian rhythm or something.

I think i am one of those lucky people who can put contacts in without any drama. It just takes about a second or two, not even worth mentioning. Takes longer to pee! I understand some people find it a lot more fuss. But now... the itchiness and blurriness that happens later in the day means i'm not really getting any benefit. It used to be the other way around for me, that contacts just go in and i don't notice them all day, whereas glasses are always THERE, being annoying, blocking out your vision, the whole damn day. But yeah... smoke, dryness, just getting old, whatever it is, i think my "happy with contacts" window might have closed.