For the past two days I have been sheltering in place. The only trip away from home was to the library to pick up a bunch of books that had arrived. For the trip to the library I wore a scarf over my face and recirculated the air in my car. The air here has been very bad.

When I was very young I spent a lot of time in the hospital for respiratory problems. It was identified then as asthma, but perhaps not what the diagnosis would be today. I was in oxygen tents several times and there were times when we barely made it to the hospital in time for treatment.

Since that time I have always been sensitive to bad air so it was not surprising that I have been affected by the fire this week. I am also very sensitive to burnt grasses and trees and this is definitely what is in the air this week.

While driving to and from work I sometimes had views that looked like fog with the thick smoky air. I always made sure I turned the air conditioner on in my car right away. I also left a bit later so that I would spend less time on the road.

Luckily the air was not as bad at our office in the early part of the week. In the latter part of the week they reduced the amount of outside air coming in, but it was still not very good.

I had to shut down my furnace to keep it from drawing in air from outside. Instead I have bundled up and am using some blankets to keep warm.

Last night I was breathing heavy, which has not been the case during the week but the air is much worse this weekend than earlier in the week.

Tonight I am much better, but with the exception of a quick step outside to pick up my newspaper I have been inside all day.

It was really weird to see so much color in the sky when the sun was still high. The sun was also an angry red for much of the time last week.

The sky was definitely red at sunset from the smoke.

You can see here how hazy it was yesterday on the way back home from the library. The sun was actually more red than this, but the camera did not catch the true color.

Sunset or sunrise? This is a sunrise. It is not what you want to see when you go out to pick up your paper in the morning. This was from yesterday.

I didn’t take a picture this morning as I stepped out to pick up my newspaper, but the sun was even more red from the smoke.

As I finish writing this I have just checked the AQI and it is still at 200. I am hoping that the forecast is correct and that it will improve over the next few days. We also have rain in the forecast for later in the week which will really help.

Steven