A thousand miles north of me, wildfires are roaring in eastern Canada.
In Quebec, the horizons are blanketed with an all-day hazy twilight. Forecasters say more is coming.
The wildfire smoke has been blown south by north Atlantic winds. Today (June 7) it’s raising alarms in our part of North Carolina.
On the map of NC below, there are three rows of red counties outlined in black. Just to the right in the middle row is one outlined in another shade of red: that’s Durham, where we are. The red doesn’t refer to politics, but to the level of smoke pollution; red is highest, and most hazardous. I think we’re stuck here, so maybe we’ll have to skip breathing for awhile.
Don’t I know it! I live west of Toronto, in the woods. I can’t go outside right now. My eyes burn. The smoke is visible and I can smell it. The smoke alarm in our breakfast room went off this morning, with nothing cooking, just the patio door open. The climate doesn’t care that the wildlife don’t cause these issues, or that the Indigenous people have had the smallest impact and are suffering the worst effects. The fires don’t know and don’t care that some of us have been making every effort to protect the environment for 55 or more years. We all get to suffer, and the most innocent suffer the most.
Beverly-
Thought of you amid the smoke as I was wheezing here a thousand miles away! Are you safe from being told to evacuate?? Hope so.