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Wildfires' smoke, ash chokes Northern Californians

  2. merasyad
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Hundreds of lightning-sparked wildfires have turned the air of Northern California into an unhealthy stew of smoke and ash, forcing the cancellation of athletic events and other outdoor activities.

Health advisories urging residents to stay indoors to limit exposure to the smokey air were issued Saturday from Bakersfield north to Redding, a distance of nearly 450 miles.

Air pollution readings in the region are two to 10 times the federal standard for clean air, Dimitri Stanich, spokesman for the California Air Resources Board, said Saturday.

Some areas are experiencing the worst air quality on record, with the smoke hanging down to the ground like a fog.

Air quality agencies are especially concerned about high readings of small-particle pollution. The tiniest particles can penetrate past the body's immune defenses, traveling deep into the lungs and the bloodstream.
merasyad

10 responses // Wildfires' smoke, ash chokes Northern Californians

  • http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid...
    Here's a link to a Google map mash up put up by the California Office of Emergency Services. It's pretty crazy. Northern California has been declared a national emergency by President Bush.

    WASHINGTON, June 28 - The President today declared an emergency exists in the State of California and ordered Federal aid to supplement State and local response efforts in the area struck by wildfires beginning on June 20, 2008, and continuing.

    The President's action authorizes the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), to coordinate all disaster relief efforts which have the purpose of alleviating the hardship and suffering caused by the emergency on the local population, and to provide appropriate assistance for required emergency measures, authorized under Title V of the Stafford Act, to save lives and to protect property and public health and safety, and to lessen or avert the threat of a catastrophe in the counties of Butte, Mendocino, Monterey, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Shasta, and Trinity.

    Specifically, FEMA is authorized to identify, mobilize, and provide at its discretion, equipment and resources necessary to alleviate the impacts of the emergency. Emergency protective measures, limited to direct Federal assistance, will be provided at 75 percent Federal funding.
    cwhite
  • http://www.firefighterblog.blogspot.com/
    An interesting, inside perspective on the wildfires. Also, a good source of information, maps and sat images.
    cwhite
  • As a resident of San Francisco, I haven't noticed much fallout from the fires, but I can tell you it's been smoggy for the past week. Very unusually warm and foggy at the same time.
    cwhite
  • It's been so hazy. All of it just sits in the little valley I live in. No good. We just had our first hint of blue sky yesterday.
    ILiveonaClock
  • Didn't they just pass a law in California allowing us gays and lesbians, to get married in California.
    Kylsport
    3 responses to this
  • I'm moving to NoCal soon. XD
    anglcazn
  • big sur is one of the most gorgeous places on earth! i go hiking/ take photos there all the time - this is so sad. it looks like a volcano from carmel. :(
    Denica_Cassandra

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