Hi Casey! I experienced the smoke from Canada here in Pennsylvania. I knew EXACTLY what it was the moment I walked outside and saw the eerie orange hue over the sun. I had lived in Los Angeles since 2002 and had to move east during the pandemic to care for elderly parents. People who had not experienced fires really didn't understand. My cousin posted a photo that said "Look at this beautiful orange moon". *cringe* But the smell of the smoke was obvious and so strong. No ash floating in the air or on my car, but it was truly horrible and took your breath away. When I moved east, the Bobcat fire had broken out in Angeles NF. I sat on my computer looking at posts about Santa Anita Canyon and the mules and cabin owners being evacuated. I saw images from the firefighters along the ACH working through the fires. It was hard to watch. Last November I was finally able to come back and visit. I hiked Waterman Mountain and could see the obvious burn damage (that picnic table at the beginning of the hike is charred now but it's still there). But I know it will recover and, I'm glad I was able to experience it the way it was before the burn. Aside from the fires, the east coast had been bone dry up until last week when it finally rained. Climate change is definitely a problem.
Oh wow that must have been a trip, knowing wildfire smoke so well and being surrounded by first-timers!
The good thing (I guess) about fires in SoCal is as long as they don't get too hot, the landscape tends to get on the path to recovery relatively quickly. I still remember being shocked the State Parks / NPS opened up the Springs Fire burn zone so quickly after the fire there, but when I hiked there after the opening there was a lot of chaparral and sage scrub that was already re-sprouting. These places that are burning now, though, are going to have a much longer recovery period ...
Hi Casey! I experienced the smoke from Canada here in Pennsylvania. I knew EXACTLY what it was the moment I walked outside and saw the eerie orange hue over the sun. I had lived in Los Angeles since 2002 and had to move east during the pandemic to care for elderly parents. People who had not experienced fires really didn't understand. My cousin posted a photo that said "Look at this beautiful orange moon". *cringe* But the smell of the smoke was obvious and so strong. No ash floating in the air or on my car, but it was truly horrible and took your breath away. When I moved east, the Bobcat fire had broken out in Angeles NF. I sat on my computer looking at posts about Santa Anita Canyon and the mules and cabin owners being evacuated. I saw images from the firefighters along the ACH working through the fires. It was hard to watch. Last November I was finally able to come back and visit. I hiked Waterman Mountain and could see the obvious burn damage (that picnic table at the beginning of the hike is charred now but it's still there). But I know it will recover and, I'm glad I was able to experience it the way it was before the burn. Aside from the fires, the east coast had been bone dry up until last week when it finally rained. Climate change is definitely a problem.
Oh wow that must have been a trip, knowing wildfire smoke so well and being surrounded by first-timers!
The good thing (I guess) about fires in SoCal is as long as they don't get too hot, the landscape tends to get on the path to recovery relatively quickly. I still remember being shocked the State Parks / NPS opened up the Springs Fire burn zone so quickly after the fire there, but when I hiked there after the opening there was a lot of chaparral and sage scrub that was already re-sprouting. These places that are burning now, though, are going to have a much longer recovery period ...
Thanks for sharing your experience!