west coast fires

[oldbike54]

 You folks out there stay safe , we are thinking of you .

Dusty

[wirespokes]

The guzzi camp-out next weekend is cancelled because of fires there. There's one in the hills ten miles away. Scary seeing big flaming red spots on the hill. I'm in town so not much danger here, but at times I haven't been able to see landmarks a mile away. Spooky how it's dark mid day and the sun is fiery red.

[Ryan]

I read about towns destroyed by wildfire in other places. I feel bad for those people, but there is distance to soften the impact. I have been to, through, stopped in, fished around, and been a patron of local businesses in the towns destroyed by Oregon's fires. It is much more personal, and much more devastating.

[ampm7]

We've been sort of lucky here in San Diego county except for the Japatul fire. We used to go riding through there quite often through Lyons Valley to Pine Valley to old 80. I don't go down that way much anymore and I just hope the few houses that are in those valleys came out OK. Expect another weekend of 100 deg temps. Not much fun riding in those conditions.

[Tusayan]

Expect another weekend of 100 deg temps. Not much fun riding in those conditions.

Over the last few days I rode 2200 miles (1100 out and back) along the US west coast, dodging smoke from numerous fires, and believe it or not was cold more than I was hot.  Yesterday for a while in central California I was wearing four layers on the bike including a jacket.

[Lumpy Idle]

as most of you have likely heard yesterday it was damned eery out here. it has a sort of pompei, end of days vibe. the sky was so dark outside when i woke up that i thought that my clock had somehow missed time. it stayed that way all day. the street lights stayed on. very spooky. the weather forecasters on the local news explained that the particulate matter from the fires north of us ascended into the upper atmosphere and then (in our area - the bay) the fog rolled in. this combination caused the sun to be entirely blotted out and the sky to have a dull orange tone.

today we seem to back to our new regular - dull grey (a bit orange) skies and high level particulate alerts for the air.

https://www.purpleair.com/map?opt=1/m/i/mAQI/a10/cC0#10.83/37.764/-122.2617

of course there are still a few people riding bicycles (oh, the foolishness of the young) and walking around without any sort of mask. i have friends north of the bay and so far they seem safe from the fires but not the contaminated air. one of the things that they are talking about is the possibility/likelihood that the air around them also has particles of poison oak in it. so, the idea of not wearing any sort of mask is idiocy even if you are are one those deeply dimwitted - 19 deniers.

i have asthma and for some reason my breathing attacks were worse last week but yesterday and today (so far) not so much. i am trying to stay indoors as much as possible.

all of this is complicated and multi-layered.  you don't want to congregate evacuees too close together cuz -.  they are not using prison labor ($1.00 an hour and a CA tradition) to fight the fires cuz -. this means it will tqke longer to put out the fires. the fires stresses the state budget at a time when it is already being pushed to it limits - cuz -. the heat waves we have been having here already make it difficult for some folks (seniors) but this spate of fires amps up everything.

this period right now is only the beginning of our 'normal' fire season which usually runs from mid-sept. through oct. this means that we should expect more of this. for folks with kids it is especially difficult. the kids are already ping-ponging off the walls with the corona lockdown stuff and keeping them indoors (or outdoors and masked for limited periods of time) is absurdly difficult.

we muddle on.

[Lumpy Idle]

as most of you have likely heard yesterday it was damned eery out here. it has a sort of pompei, end of days vibe. the sky was so dark outside when i woke up that i thought that my clock had somehow missed time.

read this:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/sep/10/us-west-fire-season-california-oregon-climate-action

[kirkemon]

Although, I'm not in danger, I smell smoke here in the Hollywood Hills. My sister lives up in Vacaville and they had a much worse situation. Stay safe! Pray for rain!

[Lumpy Idle]

... Stay safe! Pray for rain!

thanks kirk

[pehayes]

SF Bay Area.  This  morning, this is what my bedroom Venetian blinds look like.   Probably similar to the inside of my lungs.   

Patrick Hayes
Fremont CA

[Tom]

I got word from the Jenkins, Gary & Gerry (former OR MGNOC state reps) that they're okay.  They with the OR club sponsored the last 2 MGNOC National Rallies in OR.  They downsized from their property in Canby to a home in Silverton.  They had to evacuate.     Hope all is well with the Moto Guzzi family.

[Lumpy Idle]

SF Bay Area.  This  morning, this is what my bedroom Venetian blinds look like.   Probably similar to the inside of my lungs.   

Patrick Hayes
...

yeah, i think about this when i go to my car. the car is black but the ash covering makes it appear to be a bit of a dark grey.  all of that crap on my car is the stuff i am inhaling if i go out unmasked.  even with an n95 mask there are some micro-particles that filter through. mmmm delish - edible air.

[Guido Valvole]

A fair amount of gritty ash here in Martinez CA. Gray and dreary from smoke, but 65F out beats 95-105 of a few days ago. Yesterday was the worst - when I went to get groceries around 8:20am it looked like maybe 5:30am. Dark and red, like just before sunrise. Except the sun was up. This is from when I got back around 9. 11 stops down from "bright sunny day" when usually at that hour it's maybe a stop (50% less light than bsd). Not likely to have rain for a while, alas.

[cloudbase]

The Yakima River railroad bridge.

[Tom]

Hokey Smokes!  Batman!

[80CX100]

     It looks and sounds horrific 

     I've never thought of the toxins in an exterior fire smoke before, but the poison oak, wood preservatives etc, etc, sounds nasty.

     If you don't have access to decent protective masks, wet towels or T shirts tied up like a kerchief might be worth considering for the next while, if you''re in a real bad area.

     Stay safe and take care good luck

     Kelly

[Lumpy Idle]

The Yakima River railroad bridge.

YIPES!

[Lumpy Idle]

I got word from the Jenkins, Gary & Gerry (former OR MGNOC state reps) that they're okay.  They with the OR club sponsored the last 2 MGNOC National Rallies in OR.  They downsized from their property in Canby to a home in Silverton.  They had to evacuate.     Hope all is well with the Moto Guzzi family.

just saw video from stayton, oregon (below salem, just off 22) on today's democracy now. HOLY CRAP!  the sky is blood red in downtown. very creepy.  i would run like hell.

[Yeahoo Whoyah]

Stuck at home. Motorcycles garaged.  Hazardous air quality.  At least I have a home and a garage, many have lost both.     

[Lumpy Idle]

Stuck at home. Motorcycles garaged.  Hazardous air quality.  At least I have a home and a garage, many have lost both.   

i live in an urban environment and that comes with its own problems but i don't have to worry about raging forest fires sweeping in and endangering my family and destroying everything i own. it is heartbreaking to hear the stories of people who have lost everything. last week there was a story about a woman who left home in her car just before the fire hit her neighborhood. her husband and son were due to follow in another car. she waited at the checkpoint for  them and when they didn't show she turned around to get them. they found all 3 of them dead, huddled together in a homemade brick bunker, under the house.  i was bothered recently when i saw a shot of someone's burnt out garage. inside were two long forties era sedans and a corvette stingray. all just shells. i reminded myself that it sucks to lose your old 'vette but the trauma associated with the loss of a loved can never be completely undone.

one of these fires was started when a couple invited their friends to a "gender reveal party" (i had no idea what that was) in a park.  they lit off 2 smoke grenades in the field next to where they were celebrating. apparently the smoke burns either pink or blue...yay... the grenades started the grass on fire and they couldn't put it out.

humans!? we are so frail and foolish.

[Tom]

For that one, it looks like they'll be held accountable for that fire.  Big time problems.

[davedel44]

Good Luck and God Bless.  Hope ya'll fare well.

[Murray]

For that one, it looks like they'll be held accountable for that fire.  Big time problems.

Not by any means suggesting its OK but that is a very very small percentage i.e. under 1% of the overall fires the vast majority of them started by dry lighting.

[Tusayan]

Not by any means suggesting its OK but that is a very very small percentage i.e. under 1% of the overall fires the vast majority of them started by dry lighting.

The Dolan Fire in Monterey was the result of intentional arson.  Much worse than a dumb error. That one’s currently at 113,000 acres.  I was watching its progression while riding my recent ride along the coast as Highway 1 is currently closed in the area and nowhere else.

[Moparnut72]

The guzzi camp-out next weekend is cancelled because of fires there. There's one in the hills ten miles away. Scary seeing big flaming red spots on the hill. I'm in town so not much danger here, but at times I haven't been able to see landmarks a mile away. Spooky how it's dark mid day and the sun is fiery red.

What campout are you referring to?
kk

[Wild1_OR]

The Yakima River railroad bridge.

It breaks my heart. The trusses on the bridge dated back to 1899. 

I'm less than 10 miles from the nearest evacuation zone, but I feel certain it won't reach here. With recent temperatures climbing to 90 degrees, I had to choose between running the A/C and inhaling the smoke or leaving it off with the windows closed and dealing with extreme heat. I chose the A/C and drinking plenty of water to reduce the coughing.

There's a large police presence in Estacada. Apparently, law enforcement found fuel canisters, so there's an investigation now.

Update: Well that changed quickly. Level 1 evacuation is now 4 miles from me. Portland is bracing for it to potentially hit the outer regions of the city.

[Wild1_OR]

The guzzi camp-out next weekend is cancelled because of fires there. There's one in the hills ten miles away. Scary seeing big flaming red spots on the hill. I'm in town so not much danger here, but at times I haven't been able to see landmarks a mile away. Spooky how it's dark mid day and the sun is fiery red.

On a side note, I recently purchased my Moto Guzzi and I'm waiting for it to arrive. I have the club's website bookmarked and plan to join. Is there a thread for the club on the forum?

[wirespokes]

What campout are you referring to?
kk

It would have been this weekend at Humbug campground ten or fifteen miles north of Detroit near Breitenbush.

Wild1 - Is this is your first Guzzi?  What did you get?

[Wild1_OR]

It would have been this weekend at Humbug campground ten or fifteen miles north of Detroit near Breitenbush.

Wild1 - Is this is your first Guzzi?  What did you get?

Yes, it's my first Moto Guzzi and my first motorcycle. I don't want to hijack this important thread, so here's my story and the bike that I purchased:

https://wildguzzi.com/forum/index.php?topic=107204.0

[Lumpy Idle]

while we are here talking about this i think it is important to reinforce the concepts about the danger of micro-particulates that we inhale and also the dangers of ultra-fine particulates. i don't want to get too pedantic with this but its important. the dangers from micro-particulates are widely known and extend to a variety of lung diseases including cancer. the problems with the untra-fine particles are less well known pubicly but they are equally as dangerous.

"There is an even finer threshold of PM, known as ultrafine particulates, that is about 100 nanometers, or PM0.1. Regulations do not even exist for PM0.1, which are far smaller than the regulated PM10 and PM2.5 particle classes.4
 

The tiny size of PM allows them to penetrate vulnerable tissues: in fact, by moving from lung tissue into circulation, they can affect the ability of the blood to flow freely, the functioning of the autonomic nervous system, and even the health of cells themselves.8 They can cause oxidative stress and inflammation.9 Ultrafine PM0.1 particles can even penetrate and damage the mitochondria, the energy powerhouses within every cell, and also cause damage via oxidative stress to our DNA.10 ..."

https://www.quicksilverscientific.com/blog/small-but-dangerous-air/

please, if you are in a zone where there is a possibility of inhalable particulates from fires do not go outside unmasked and limit your time outdoors as much as possible. remember too if your pets have lungs they too are also being affected.  it is stupefying for me to see the numbers of people outside around me who are going unmasked. cloth masks do very little to help and n95 masks do little to restrict the ultrafine particulates. try to stay out of it. i know it is difficult but the damage that you do to your body now can affect you for the rest of your life.

ok, pedantic mode off.
thanks