Discussion: smoke

Looks like smoke around Northstar is listed as hazardous to very hazardous. I am thinking about the rogaine, but I am sure there are people there now for the Cal O Fest orienteering.
What is the feedback from anyone there on the smoke situation?

It’s pretty bad right now. Keep checking for updates

The view from I-80 on the drive up from the Sprint venue to Truckee:

And the view from our rental house in Truckee:

GOES Geocolor image just before sunset today. All smoke over CA and NV:


Here's the main Pacific Northwest sector GOES sat data page.

Looked very smoky in Truckee on the webcam this afternoon:
Live downtown Truckee webcam

Still lots of scattering in the lights at the airport:
Live Truckee airport webcam

Dark spots in the band 7 3.9um data at night are the fire hotspots.

The ski slopes of Northstar are visible at one point in that airport webcam sweep - during the day at least.

Here's a clickable map with the Caltrans live traffic webcams if you want to check on driving visibility. For example, here's the cam at the Northstar turnoff on hwy 267.

The Northstar Ski Area mountain cams are here, updated every few mins.

Thanks a lot for all of the great research, eddie.

For reference, here's a link to the EPA Airnow smoke and air quality monitors interactive map (takes a few seconds to load).

Thanks for all the above links. Would be good to know if you can actually smell smoke at Northstar. I have been looking at air quality sites and keeping updated.
Unlike an O meet, the Rogaine is 24 hours long. Lots of time breathing. Maybe someone could post how they felt and breathed during the O meets that they have been in up there. Did you have a cough or headache after your exertion. Things like that. Something detailed. I know people post about their events with details about how they had gone in this reentrant or seen that rock, much detail.
I have heard back from the committee. They are playing it by ear. I see the past 2 days have seen the event start times pushed back. Can they do that for the rogaine? I doubt it.
I am driving a long ways to get there and have cancellation deadlines. So decision for me cannot be day by day, hour by hour.

Thinair,

I am currently setting the controls for the Rogaine right now so I may be in a good position to answer your question. Thursday was great. Friday the AQI was at 190 for most of the day. I could smell the smoke but it didn't bother me. On Saturday, the AQI was over 300 at the start and 200 when I finished. You could definitely smell the smoke. When I finished I could feel a little cough develop when I breathed in deep. I'm pretty immune to smoke compared to most people so if I noticed anything, that means it was pretty unhealthy and would not be a good idea to have a 24-hr event. Today, the AQI dropped below 200 (right now it's 120) and I didn't smell the smoke at all and didn't notice any effects. It was actually a joy out there today. Hopefully, this is the direction were heading but you can't know if the smoke will come back again. I understand the dilemma you are facing.

Thanks for the report from the ground, bill3. Tough decisions all around! Fingers crossed the winds are in our favor for the rest of the week.

I tried a KN95 for the model event Friday, when it was about 200 (I think but I’m not sure). I could smell smoke with no mask, but almost no smoke with it on (possibly just the contamination that landed inside when it was off my head). It’s mostly okay, even sucking air going uphill, but I only did about an hour. I decided if I could smell smoke during the Middle or Long, I’d have the mask with me to try. I didn’t smell smoke at the middle and I missed the Long because of the delay.

I know N95s are available again, and I’d bet one with an exhaust valve wouldn’t be terrible. (And obviously the vented ones are forbidden for airport use.)

But, there’s another thing. The 200 (plus?) on Friday really caused my eyes to sting after about an hour. It could have been sweat, but I don’t think so. Maybe sweat plus smoke?

Thanks for the reports above. Excellent. It gave me a link between the numbers and what you all felt.
Looks like this AM AQI is around 100 near the event. Near me it is similar. This means that the danger is about 4x higher than acceptable by WHO for air health. Another number.
I will be getting an N95 mask with an outflow valve. They are supposed to be easier to breathe and less hot to wear.
I feel I have to go to this rogaine. They are already few and far between. Nothing now since…..when? Probably at least two years.
Can’t imagine what those firefighters are going through day after day out there in (300-500) smoke situations and with much exertion.
Thanks again. I am monitoring AQI very frequently through the days. Watching numbers that now have more meaning.