The area I live in has been at 220+ air quality for two days now; that's Purple for "Very Unhealthy".
- 0 to 50: Good - Air quality is satisfactory, and air pollution poses little or no risk.
- 51 to 100: Moderate - Air quality is acceptable. However, there may be a risk for some people, particularly those who are unusually sensitive to air pollution.
- 101 to 150: Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups - Members of sensitive groups may experience health effects. The general public is less likely to be affected.
- 151 to 200: Unhealthy - Some members of the general public may experience health effects; members of sensitive groups may experience more serious health effects.
- 201 to 300: Very Unhealthy - The risk of health effects is increased for everyone.
- 301 and higher: Hazardous - Health warning of emergency conditions; everyone is more likely to be affected.
I stepped outside today (in retrospect, dumb, but I wanted my interlibrary loan and the Volcano Burrito. Dumb.) and instantly went back inside to grab the N95s. I haven't been exposed to much smoke in my life that wasn't cooking-related. It smelled like the entire parking lot was an ashtray.
Lucas claimed at one point to see ash particulates. I might have seen the same but I can't tell the difference between that or regular old pollen. BTW, I have to imagine this is like, the worst possible time for allergy sufferers.
I had to haul my wheelchair out of the trunk today because Paula was too sick. The physical exertion left me gasping and I thought I was gonna pass out.
Nightmarish situation. And people are saying this will probably become a new annual event.