Wildfires...

[Blue_In_AK]

Alaska is still burning. Here's kind of an interesting pie chart I ran across.



For a breakdown of the current fires burning here...

http://akfireinfo.com

[scarletwoman]

1. Aw geeze... Can you even breathe the air up there?

I just can't imagine. Here in Minnesota, we've had several days of smoke in the air from the wildfires in Canada - it's been awful for those with impaired breathing. Most of it has blown away today, thank goodness.

But up in Alaska is there any escape from the smoke anywhere in the state?

I'm so sorry this is happening. It must be hell on the wildlife, too.

Is there any possible upside, like killing off the spruce bark beetle?

Stay safe and well, dear Blue.

[Blue_In_AK]

2. The air isn't too bad down here in Anchorage,

but Fairbanks and the Interior are pretty awful. The fires near Sterling and Willow are under control, so the bad air we had earlier in the summer has kind of dissipated.

Here's a kind of cool shot that photographer Jesse Fliris posted on Facebook with the caption, "Sockeye Fire ... it came ... it tried ... but it didn't take away the beauty of this great state." Bittersweet.

[scarletwoman]

4. Ha! Fireweed! Quite appropriate!

Glad to know that the Willow fire is done. But I definitely feel for the folks in the Interior.

[Uncle Joe]

3. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, Blue_In_AK.

[Liberal_in_LA]

5. wow

[Blue_In_AK]

6. the local news is reporting tonight

that the burn area in Alaska is over 3 million acres now.

[Blue_In_AK]

7. Fairbanks air quality "hazardous"

http://www.newsminer.com/news/local_news/fairbanks-air-quality-hazardous-amid-wildfire-smoke-activities-canceled/article_d92df69e-2507-11e5-8898-73c477618aa7.html?mode=jqm

<snip>


The air-quality index, a 12-hour weighted average, surpassed a rating of 400 Tuesday. An air-quality index of "good" is any rating between 0 and 50, while any rating higher than 300 is termed "hazardous."

Levels of PM2.5 — particulates smaller than 2.5 micrometers — were around 250 micrograms per cubic meter. For every 10 microgram per cubic meter increase in PM2.5, Fairbanks Memorial Hospital experienced an increase of 6 or 7 percent for stroke and respiratory illness visits, according to a 2010 study by the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services.

Air quality is expected to be highly variable through Wednesday.

The Fairbanks North Star Borough Parks and Recreation Department suspended operations of all outdoor programs, including the Crooked Creek and Whiskey Island Railroad at Pioneer Park, according to Director Michael Bork.

<snip>

Pictures at link.

[bluedigger]

8. "Wildfires in Canada cause air quality issues in Colorado"

DENVER – Smoke from wildfires in western Canada has triggered an air quality advisory in northeastern Colorado.

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment said Monday the smoke could cause problems for people with heart disease or breathing ailments.

The advisory covers all or parts of nine counties and is in effect until Tuesday morning.

Counties affected include Logan, Morgan, Phillips, Sedgwick, Washington and Yuma and parts of Adams, Arapahoe and Weld.

More than 200 wildfires are burning across western Canada, prompting the evacuation of thousands of residents. Heavy smoke is visible over Canada's Pacific coast.

http://www.coloradoan.com/story/news/2015/07/06/wildfires-canada-cause-air-quality-advisory-colorado/29798897/

[Octafish]

9. Does the weather seem abnormal? Drier? Hotter? Un-Alaska like?

David Suzuki says it is down in Vancouver.

Welcome to an extreme, warming world

David Suzuki, The Canadian Press
Published Wednesday, July 8, 2015 10:54AM EDT

My hometown, Vancouver, is in a rainforest, so we celebrate sunny days. People I talk to are enjoying the recent warm, dry weather, but they invariably add, "This isn't normal" - especially with all the smoke from nearby forest fires.

With no mountain snowpack and almost no spring rain, rivers, creeks and reservoirs are at levels typically not seen until fall. Parks are brown. Blueberries, strawberries and other crops have arrived weeks earlier than usual. Wildfires are burning here and throughout Western Canada. Meanwhile, normally dry Kamloops has had record flooding, as has Toronto. Manitoba has been hit with several tornadoes and golf-ball-sized hail.

Unusual weather is everywhere. California is in its fourth year of severe drought. Temperatures in Spain, Portugal, India and Pakistan have reached record levels, sparking wildfires and causing thousands of deaths and heat-related ailments. Heavy rains, flooding and an unusually high number of tornadoes have caused extensive damage and loss of life in Texas, Oklahoma and Mexico.

The likely causes are complex: a stuck jet stream, the Pacific El Nino, natural variation and climate change. Even though it's difficult to link all events directly to global warming, climate scientists have warned for years that we can expect these kinds of extremes to continue and worsen as the world warms. Some hypothesize that the strange behaviours of this year's jet stream and El Nino are related to climate change, with shrinking Arctic sea ice affecting the former.

CONTINUED...

http://www.ctvnews.ca/sci-tech/david-suzuki-welcome-to-an-extreme-warming-world-1.2459328

Is it in vain to hope the federal government takes an active role in combatting climate change?

[Blue_In_AK]

10. Yes, it's been warmer and drier.

We didn't have much snow last winter, spring came a couple weeks early, and we had extended really hot weather in May and June. It's cooled off some now, and it's raining today, at least here in Anchorage, but a couple days ago it was back to 80 here, a new record for the date, and 90 in Fairbanks. 80 used to be really unusual in this part of Alaska, but we've had several days so far this summer that have been that warm. It used to be that we might get 10 or 12 days above 70 in the summer, but some years only two or three.

[Octafish]

11. I'm in Detroit...

The weather this year has been unusually cool. This morning it was 55 and rainy.

When I was a kid, we'd have 70s-80s for most of July and August. In the past few years, it seems to have gotten cooler.

Where we really notice the changing climate, though, is winter. It snows a lot less than it used to.