Impact of fires?

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Joyful Uke

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The post on the HI lock down made me think of the fires on the west coast, and wonder what impact that has on the ukulele world. (Whatever impact, it's obviously extremely minor compared to the devastation that's happening.)

I think there are some luthiers out that way, right? Is John Kinnard out there? I think there are some others? And, what about music stores like Gryphon, or others that my web browser wanders off to when I have time to "window shop"?

And, of course, what about forum members? Is everyone safe?

I hope everyone is out of harm's way, and doing OK.

What a year - pandemic, fires, tornado in my area took out 2 miles of the town, and on and on. Stay safe, everyone.
 
I live in the Bay Area. The air is terrible right now so we are staying indoors 24/7 except for grocery shopping. This actually leads to more online ukulele participation and more time with the ukulele.

Kinnard near San Diego and hopefully fine... no fires and just bad, not horrendous air quality. There are luthiers in Berkeley and Santa Cruz. Oregon luthiers may be in big trouble from the fires.

Gryphon Strings and other shops have been shut down, except for curbside pickup maybe, for months due to the pandemic. Pretty much true of all the Bay Area shops as reopening has been slow.
 
rainbow21 said:
I live in the Bay Area. The air is terrible right now so we are staying indoors 24/7 except for grocery shopping....
Click to expand...

Not just staying inside, but we can't open windows. I finally rigged up a filter for some fresh air in my office:

Day 1 (I just installed it)
freshair_day1.jpg

Day 5 (today)
freshair_day5.jpg

Note the large amount of dirt. Although 3M Filtrete 1900 claims to filter out smoke, I can still smell it so I only use it when I really, really want some fresh air. I.e. it's 5 days old, but not used too often... now you can appreciate the amount of ash in our air.
 
Wow, what a horrible situation.
From the photos I've seen, it's quite terrifying for those in the line of the fires, and horrible for those dealing with the smoke and ashes. A lot of devastation.

I hope that everyone stays safe and healthy.
 
I have to admit when I saw a map of the fires today I looked for any near Ashland, OR and David Ingalls. It looks like he may be near one of several burn zones so hopefully he is well and out of harm’s way.
 
pmorey said:
I have to admit when I saw a map of the fires today I looked for any near Ashland, OR and David Ingalls. It looks like he may be near one of several burn zones so hopefully he is well and out of harm’s way.
Click to expand...

Yes, he was one of the names I was trying to think of.

This is so devastating for so many. Even that terrible air quality could be so harmful. But the fires are just stunning to see photos of, (fortunately for me, I'm no where near the area, so won't be seeing it in person.)

Sending good thoughts to anyone out that way.
 
Brad Donaldson is in Cannon Beach, OR and Aaron Keim is in Hood River.

It is bad up there right now. On a scale of 1 - 500 on air quality, Salem (the capital) measured 800 today.
 
Last edited:
rainbow21 said:
Brad Donaldson is in Cannon Beach, OR and Aaron Keim is in Hood River.

It is bad up there right now. On a scale of 1 - 500 on air quality, Salem (the capital) measured 800 today.
Click to expand...

I asked Aaron recently how they were doing and he said it was smoky but that the fires were pretty far away. Not sure how things are in Cannon Beach.
 
Having house plants will GREATLY improve air quality in the home. See THIS article by NASA. That NASA article also lists the 10 most effective house plants.

Additionally, house plants are a significant aid to "morale," in case lockdown and TV's evening news are giving you cabin fever.
 
The map (linked below) of Oregon and surrounding states will give you an idea of just how many wildfires are currently active in the West. It looks and feels apocalyptic. Most of the Oregon fires are located between Interstate 5 and the Cascade Mountains. But just about every place west of the Cascades is blanketed in smoke and/or ash. The daily Air Quality Index for most areas is ranging from Dangerous to Hazardous. Our house is well-built and quite airtight, but the smell of smoke indoors is very prevalent. It’s been a surreal week — in a surreal year.

https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/6329d5e4e13748b9b9f7f33f06a3c376/
 
NWCG Fire map
Formerly geomac
Has a map of Fire perimeters
Ashland north to Medford south between I5 and 99 is pretty well devastated.
Downtown Ashland, Lithia Park, the Shakespeare theater and such appears safe. The western side of Phoenix, (road splits through town) appears safe.
Down here, sometimes the Bay side of the hills is better, or worse. Right now PurpleAir indicates we are all in the 200
 
I’m in Washington, east of the Cascades. Air quality index yesterday was 486 out of 500. You can’t get away from it. Our year began with major flooding, the damage from that is ongoing. Segued into all the rest, now fires and smoke. Grateful we aren’t currently in danger from fires and that I replaced the HVAC system this spring. A small town north of here was wiped out last week. The air is supposed to begin to clear tomorrow.
 
Ziret, are you talking about Malden, WA?
David Ingalls (Ono 'Ukuleles) frequently visits the forum, so my apologies if I speak for him. I was in touch with him on Friday and he is doing well. It appears we may be getting some rain beginning tomorrow or Tuesday, and the winds should start to clear out the smoke.
 
BillM said:
Ziret, are you talking about Malden, WA?
David Ingalls (Ono 'Ukuleles) frequently visits the forum, so my apologies if I speak for him. I was in touch with him on Friday and he is doing well. It appears we may be getting some rain beginning tomorrow or Tuesday, and the winds should start to clear out the smoke.
Click to expand...

Yeah, Malden. I live right on the Oregon border, so not near me. This year Oregon is getting hit hard. I imagine next year will be Washington's turn. I heard on the radio this morning that this will only get worse. And that it will not be staying in the west. Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. It's been a weekend of sadness.
 
I'm in Oakland where it's only 200. People in Oregon have it insanely rough. Regular masks don't help with particles. We all need N95s which are impossible to find.
 
The smoke crossed the border into Vancouver a few days ago and we're up around 200. It's pretty terrible, so it's hard to imagine how bad it is in Oregon where I see numbers well over 500. Gets pretty stuffy and warm with the windows closed all the time.
 
I'm in Portland - its better today. I could barely see the houses across the street yesterday. But we've had it easy compared to others who have been displaced. I work in St Helens and our county fairgrounds has been an evacuation site for those displaced. They and their animals have had it bad. And of course, our heroes are the crazy firefighters. Bravo to those on the front lines!
 
Joyful Uke said:
Would KN95s help?
https://smartairfilters.com/en/blog/whats-the-difference-between-n95-and-kn95-masks/
Click to expand...

IF the mask isn't fitted to the individual, it doesn't matter.

I spent 24 years as a firefighter/paramedic, ran the county HazMat Team, and spent 2 weeks with the Upstate NY Search & Rescue Team at Ground Zero.

If the mask you wear isn't fit tested, it may or may not work. It is like wearing a Self Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) face piece with bad seal. It helps, but not necessarily enough.

-Kurt​
 
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