Air quality in USA

[Calson]

I was in the process of planning a trip in the next month and looking at where fires are burning and the impact on air quality downwind of the fires where it is not safe to be outdoors.

At this time northern California, eastern Oregon and Washington, northern Idaho, parts of Montana, and western Canada are best avoided. Between the fires and extreme temperaturs from the climate crisis and Covid-19 from factory farming and ranching the world for future generations is rapidly becoming a very bleak place for them to live. In terms of RV travel it also means starting from scratch with our travel planning.

https://gispub.epa.gov/airnow/?xmin...=4448072.741806764&clayer=ozonepm&mlayer=none

 

[macnut]

These are big states with many great places to visit during fire season. Best of luck to you in rescheduling. We rescheduled our route to WA from 5 to 101 because of the heatwave, and loved driving up the coast. The Seattle area was awesome, but we are in Bend OR now and the air is smokey. We are still enjoying the time with relatives, but be aware if you have health issues.

Note this is a politics-free site, so please be aware when posting, including replies.

 

[TJFogelberg]

Leaving Sept 10 (From MN) for a 3 month trip out West. Hard to predict what the weather and fire situation will be and how the winds will affect where the smoke flies. We had the worst air quality ever recorded here in MN last week as the winds blew smoke from Canadian wild fires down south. We travel primarily Sept-Nov and find this avoids the weather extremes in most places. I don't like camping in the RV with the AC running 24/7.

 

[macnut]

What a difference a day makes. We had a little rain yesterday and AQI is now 52, which is better than back at home. I guess never try to outwit mother nature!

I agree, fall travel is the best! Most people don’t realize that is the best time of the year to visit CA beaches….fog is offshore and weather is still nice. Wishing you great camping this fall!

 

[TJFogelberg]

The other big advantage of Fall travel is that the campgrounds and parks are not full. (Kids are in school generally and snowbirds haven't hit the road yet in most cases).
Twin Cities (Minneapolis-St Paul) finally getting some badly needed rain this morning.

 

[wyocamper-WO]

We're in southeast Wyoming and the air is so bad today that being outside is very unpleasant. And the smoke gives me a constant headache. Last year we had large fires about 100 miles away in Wyoming and Colorado, but today is as bad as it ever got last year. This looks like it's mostly coming from the California fires. AQI today is rated Unhealthy at 157-166, depending which local station you look at.

 

[jarnarcos]

iqair.com is a good source of info.

 

[BCam]

Northern California is a pretty large area, roughly from Fresno, north to the OR border. The air quality, particularly from smoke, varies significantly.

Here in the Sacramento area, we've had very few air quality issues related to the fires due to the predominantly westerly winds (from the west). Today, the air quality is good. A couple of weeks ago my niece and her husband in Rochester, MN had smoke from CA fires while we didn't.

 

[Calson]

The difficulty is in trip planning. We were in Jackson Hole when the fires from lightning strikes hit Yellowston and GT and we had to change our plans and head in another direction. Until the fires have burned themselves out we are avoiding travel. Caught between fires to the north and extreme heat to the south so we are staying put for now.

With Northern California the air quality depends a great deal on the wind direction but they are finding that with the fire storms there is a wind storm created by the fire that is not affected by the prevailing winds. I prefer to be where I cannot see the air that I am breathing. When the air is dirty, even year round in much of the central valley in California for example, I find myself breathing shallow unconsciously. Driving into cleaner air my breathing becomes deeper and my mental state improves.

Along the California coast the warmest month of the year is usually September. Cold weather though means having daytime temperatures in the high 50's so the wind speed and whether the wind is coming off the ocean or from the land makes a great deal of difference in comfort and whether a jacket might be needed.

Came across this business in Monterey that rents e-bikes at reasonable rates. Good way to see the area and to get some experience with this type of bike.

https://bikebigsur.com/tour/e-bike-rentals/

 

[AZ Okies]

It’s summer. It’s always like this. We are just getting home from a trip to Utah, NM, and CO. Yes there was haze from smoke, and some days we didn’t see the mountains in CO, but that didn’t make us change our plans. We still did everything we wanted to do. There have also been wonderful rains in NM and it rained all most every evening in Moab. The country going west on I-40 was beautifully green.

You can look at it as a glass half empty, but I always see the glass half full. And I don’t worry about what the next generation will inherit. You can’t change the world. I just do my part to do the right thing.