Kudos to the Portland Redditor that shared the simple 4-filter box fan idea. It's a lifesaver of a little cube. That smoke came in so fast yesterday. By the time I saw the AQI had shot up to like 200 the inside of my apt was already stinkin and giving me a headache. Only took about 10 minutes for the filter cube to get the indoor particulates down to green levels. Is this a win in the post-climate change hellscape?
At least we are getting some ☔️ almost a whole month earlier than last year. Hope it dumps in the mountains too.
Is it just me or does the wildfire smoke instantly make anyone else angry and irritable? Walking outside and smelling that smoke and seeing the orange haze instantly makes me grumpy.
Bright side: I woke up this morning to rain and petrichor and it was glorious!
I feel the same way and always feel like I’m being dramatic! It seems like most people I know are unaffected? Whereas I have to seal myself indoors and feel poor (mentally and physically) 😭
It's upsetting. One of my favorite areas up the Clackamas burned a few years back and now more is burning. And we caused it. That's why I'm grumpy about it.
I used to go there all the time, have some great memories with my family. I haven’t had the heart to drive further than Estacada since the fire, I just can’t do it
Back in 2020, I said that if you're watching a movie, and a character looks out the window to see that the sky is red and it's raining ash, you understand this is a movie about the end of the world. That's just clear visual storytelling.
So yeah, when you look out the window and see that the sky is red and it's raining ash, your whole brain goes OH SHIT on a level you cannot control.
I have totally seen this. It makes sense. Your body is communicating "this is danger, we are not safe" when you inhale smoke. I definitely feel the low-grade danger in my body when it gets like that and I feel panicky/irritable.
For me there’s like a foreboding feel to it. There’s like a “death” vibe that happens at the end of summer, kinda like the “new things” vibe spring gives, for me anyhow.
Man, we were just down in PDX this weekend for a youth soccer tourney, was absolutely perfect weather and air quality. Had no idea smoke was on its way! Glad it cleared out quickly for you.
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I’d really like to see some numbers on rate of losses vs growth of trees. I’m sure we’re losing faster than growing, just sounds like it’d be interesting to see
Most of the things burning are undergrowth and deadwood, adding to that any sickly or damaged trees. Depending upon the tree, some will flourish after the fires, others (like young trees, deciduous undergrowth) will perish. The upside to fires is any damaging beetles or fungi that destroy or damage trees dies with the fire.
Is that true though? I've heard that a century of fighting forest fires has caused a buildup of fuel that makes fires burn much hotter, killing much more than they would have if the natural cycles had been left alone.
So out of curiosity, when lightning would strike and burn a forest prior to---oh, I dunno, 1900.....who would be blamed?
You can't stop mother nature, on either side of the equation.
I know it's tempting to take all of the responsibility upon yourself like a flagellating monk, but save some angst and self loathing for the rest of us, ok sport?
1) the fires were less common because lighting is the only natural ignition source. 2) The trees were bigger and thereby more fire resistant (remember, this whole state was clear cut at some point, there are only a tiny number of trees that are older than 150 years and even fewer forests of them. The lifespan of Doug firs, cedars, hemlock, and spruce is around 1000 years. What we see out there is literally a baby forest, even the “old” stuff. You’ve likely never walked in true old growth in your life unless you’re a forest ecologist and know where to find it. 3) the summers are longer, hotter, and drier.
Funny you should mention that. My job is with ODF.
Lightning plays a much heavier role here than in other regions, but human ignitions remain a catastrophic threat. For example, recent human-caused events like the Spokane Complex Fires in Washington destroyed over 900 structures.
Acreage Impact: This region is historically prone to some of the largest cumulative burns. In active seasons like 2026, the Pacific Northwest Geographic Area alone has seen more than 2.6 million cumulative acres burn.
2) You truly should stop. Yacolt and Tillamook burns in the early 20th century were virgin old-growth. Trees far larger than anything standing today. Old growth burns just as easy as new; in-fact for longer as there's more fuel. Species burn differently (Doug vs. Ponderosa), but size doesn't matter. Old growth got tall because of coastal climate, not lack of burn.
You're trying to pass off human-influenced change as "just Mother Nature," and that makes zero sense.
A natural lightning strike in a balanced ecosystem prior to 1900 is not the same thing as fires burning hotter, faster, and across longer seasons because human activity has altered the climate and fuel conditions. Even indigenous populations managed fuel loads back then because they understood cause and effect.
Calling accountability "angst and self-loathing" is just an excuse to pretend human actions have no impact on the environment around us.
For reference, this is one of my trees that was hit by lightning when that storm came through around July 23rd.
While this tree will die, notice the lack of burning and destruction? This is what typically happens when lightning strikes a healthy tree in a healthy forest. Not only are most fires man made, but our actions are increasing the rate of nature fires as well.
I remember the year the sky was red for a week. You couldn’t even get those filters. In my shitty flop I was boiling rosemary and lavender constantly to suppress the smoke in the house.
The smoke surprised me when I walked out yesterday afternoon. Some wind direction must have changed or something! Here’s hoping the showers this week will ground some of it and suppress whatever fire is going on.
That’s what I keep hearing but why are we all not talking about the actual fire that happened within the city. My post even got removed when I asked about it.
Okay that’s enough rollercoaster 🎢 for a bit. I know we’re going to have more because climate change 😢 but for now, rain and taking a breath of fresher air. Oh god my comment is so big.
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u/Big_stumpee 14h ago
Imagine going to bed early last night with windows open and waking up wondering why tf your throat hurts lol