Learn how bad the air is if nearby forest fires fill your air with smoke A predicted result of climate change is increasing forest fires, thanks to dried out vegetation acting like tinder. As I write this California has several massive wildfires - the Camp Fire just destroyed the entire city of Paradise California, and a pair of wildfires are threatening to destroy Malibu and/or Thousand Oaks. But that's not the only tragedy, because the smoke travels and creates unhealthy air conditions a hundred miles away or more. If you can see the air, and smell the smoke, just how bad is it for your lungs and health?

Low-tech air filter for bad air quality emergencies This week the SF Bay Area is suffering from yet another massive wildfire filling our air with smoke, causing unhealthy air conditions. The Camp Fire sprang up on November 8, 2018, and destroyed Paradise California, a town in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. While there is a serious tragedy happening in the zone directly affected by the fire, a large chunk of California now has unhealthy air. Further, officials are predicting unhealthy air conditions will remain in place for another week. "Unhealthy" is the designation by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for air conditions we currently have. The situation does not warrant spending hundreds of dollars on a fancy air filter system that will be used only for a few days. Fortunately there is a lower cost easy-to-implement solution.