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| I like the"molten" top left corner. |
I have really been resisting saying this, but this smoke season is beginning to seem like the new normal.
Four years ago we went on a short mini holiday to Tofino with friends that were visiting from Zurich. I remember the year clearly because it was 2013 when we traveled to Europe to visit them. We had fantastic weather in Tofino for our four days, actually a nice sunny consecutive stretch of days that I've never experienced before in Tofino. Then, on the drive home, just as we passed the Long Beach provincial park we hit the smoke barrier. We drove into it rather unexpectedly and it took a few seconds for me to register that the orange haze was from forest fire smoke, which I later learned was from a big fire near Port Alberni. Later, as the ferry exited Active Pass on the final approach to Tsawwassen ferry terminal, the mainland shore was completely shrouded by smoke, acting as fog.
I know last year was a bad year for smoke too, but I'd have to check my 2015 and 2016 photos to confirm we had stretches of smoke cover then (talk about a short memory!), but definitely this year it's returned with a vengeance. Last Sunday we were in Seattle, recovering from the Pearl Jam concert by taking in the Dale Chihuly glass exhibit at the base of the Space Needle (highly recommended!). As we arrived I thought there was mist in the atmosphere that had blown in off Puget Sound. I fully expected that it would have burned off by the time we had to start heading for home in the late afternoon. It was then that I realized that it was indeed smoke from forest fires. By the time we reached Vancouver the north shore mountains were again cloaked and have remained as such right up to now.
It's apparently the worst air quality we've perhaps ever had in this region, a value of 10, whatever that means. I know I'm feeling it in my throat. At times it's been quite acrid smelling. Not as bad as the night I photographed the rise of the full moon in Richmond during the bog fire recently, but pretty bad.
To be fair, I suppose it is payback time. Seems the rest of the world is suffering ill effects from humankind's infatuation with extracting and burning the Earth's natural resources. Why should affluent Southwest Canada be spared any pain? I'm certainly not blameless. I should be bicycle-commuting every day to work but it's rare that I do. I'm riding a motorcycle to and from work this summer, so that's at least a bit less fuel burned per day, but the motorcycle engine is older and less efficient than my car's, so who really knows which one pollutes more.
Four years ago we went on a short mini holiday to Tofino with friends that were visiting from Zurich. I remember the year clearly because it was 2013 when we traveled to Europe to visit them. We had fantastic weather in Tofino for our four days, actually a nice sunny consecutive stretch of days that I've never experienced before in Tofino. Then, on the drive home, just as we passed the Long Beach provincial park we hit the smoke barrier. We drove into it rather unexpectedly and it took a few seconds for me to register that the orange haze was from forest fire smoke, which I later learned was from a big fire near Port Alberni. Later, as the ferry exited Active Pass on the final approach to Tsawwassen ferry terminal, the mainland shore was completely shrouded by smoke, acting as fog.
I know last year was a bad year for smoke too, but I'd have to check my 2015 and 2016 photos to confirm we had stretches of smoke cover then (talk about a short memory!), but definitely this year it's returned with a vengeance. Last Sunday we were in Seattle, recovering from the Pearl Jam concert by taking in the Dale Chihuly glass exhibit at the base of the Space Needle (highly recommended!). As we arrived I thought there was mist in the atmosphere that had blown in off Puget Sound. I fully expected that it would have burned off by the time we had to start heading for home in the late afternoon. It was then that I realized that it was indeed smoke from forest fires. By the time we reached Vancouver the north shore mountains were again cloaked and have remained as such right up to now.
It's apparently the worst air quality we've perhaps ever had in this region, a value of 10, whatever that means. I know I'm feeling it in my throat. At times it's been quite acrid smelling. Not as bad as the night I photographed the rise of the full moon in Richmond during the bog fire recently, but pretty bad.
To be fair, I suppose it is payback time. Seems the rest of the world is suffering ill effects from humankind's infatuation with extracting and burning the Earth's natural resources. Why should affluent Southwest Canada be spared any pain? I'm certainly not blameless. I should be bicycle-commuting every day to work but it's rare that I do. I'm riding a motorcycle to and from work this summer, so that's at least a bit less fuel burned per day, but the motorcycle engine is older and less efficient than my car's, so who really knows which one pollutes more.
