How are ya'll holding up with the fires? (Canada + Northern US)

[I_royalty_I]

I had to go to my firms NYC office this week for a bit and it was insane up there. Sky was basically orange/red. Back home now and it’s more like just a foggy day - but still smells like smoke. It’s kind of crazy how far reaching the impact is.

i can only imagine how bad it is up in Canada where the fire originated from. Hope everyone is staying safe!

Do we know what started the fires yet? I saw a time lapse video where many fires appeared to start simultaneously. Not sure if it was real or not, but it was awfully sketchy if it was.

[Ice]

Our aqi went over 300 today, I think it's definitely moving southward at least across the midatlantic cost we actually had to go outside yesterday when it was only in the 200s to run some errands (wore masks of course) but definitely going to keep a closer eye on the conditions over the next couple of days. Hoping things are already peaking and declining for the more severe areas, can't imagine if things continue to get worse. 😥 Hope everyone is able to stay inside and safe 🙏

[John Cena]

@(you need an account to see links)
I've been seeing some videos in the NY area, the ones from the tall buildings are insane.

Also I've seen similar videos to what you mentioned about them starting simultaneously and some comments suggesting they were started on purpose. While it seems sketchy, forest fires are also something that just happens with the right conditions and it's possible for those 'right' conditions to overlap in areas. Another factor to take into account is that we only see when the fires are reported, not necessarily their exact start times. So if the helicopter/tracker systems are flying over an area, they'll report all the fires in that area at the same time (since that's when they are seeing them). I wouldn't be surprised if some of them were started deliberately, or accidently, by people - but assuming that the entirely of Canada being on fire is a huge government plot just seems even more far-fetched to me than things just aligning during wildfire season.

[zex]

Hopefully the air quality will go up soon so everyone can breathe better. I'm all the way down in Texas and even just the bit of pollution here makes it feel like there's an elephant on my chest. I can't imagine being in the worst of it.

[John Cena]

@(you need an account to see links)
Just looked up the US aqi scale, and that 200-300 rating is scary.
I think in Canada our aqi scale is 1-10, and yesterday in my area it was 11 Thankfully only a 7 today (which still isn't great lol)
Hope you guys have the option to stay indoors if possible, stay safe <3

[Alcremie]

"Most of the more than 2,000 fires that Canada has seen this year are thought to have been started by humans.

Some, particularly in Quebec, were sparked by lightning strikes.

Dead trees left to stand and poor forestry management have also previously been blamed for causing a serious fire risk.

Experts say the modern practice of trying to totally suppress fires can stop forests creating natural firebreaks that would historically have reduced wildfire spread."



This was written by BBC, I'm not sure of them as a media source but this is the most concise, condense information I've found. Link here: (you need an account to see links)

[John Cena]

"Most of the more than 2,000 fires that Canada has seen this year are thought to have been started by humans.

Some, particularly in Quebec, were sparked by lightning strikes.

Dead trees left to stand and poor forestry management have also previously been blamed for causing a serious fire risk.

Experts say the modern practice of trying to totally suppress fires can stop forests creating natural firebreaks that would historically have reduced wildfire spread."



This was written by BBC, I'm not sure of them as a media source but this is the most concise, condense information I've found. Link here: (you need an account to see links)

--

Something to take into account though is that Canada averages over 7000 forest fires per year, and more than half are caused by lightning. ((you need an account to see links))
So something like 2000 fires being started by human activity isn't exactly new or conspiracy-territory, with fires being started from something as silly as a cigarette butt, someone not putting out their campfires, or trains passing through a dry land.


Edited to add: Also budget cuts have been made to wildfire programs, particularly in Alberta, so we just don't have the capacity or man power to fight them all and stop them before they spread and get worse, like in some previous years

[Alcremie]

--

Something to take into account though is that Canada averages over 7000 forest fires per year, and more than half are caused by lightning. ((you need an account to see links))
So something like 2000 fires being started by human activity isn't exactly new or conspiracy-territory, with fires being started from something as silly as a cigarette butt, someone not putting out their campfires, or trains passing through a dry land.


Edited to add: Also budget cuts have been made to wildfire programs, particularly in Alberta, so we just don't have the capacity or man power to fight them all and stop them before they spread and get worse, like in some previous years

That's unfortunate to hear about the cuts to the programs. That doesn't make sense to me?
It would help if it rained a bit more lately. I live in swamp central and it hasn't rained in like two months?

and I do remember all of the smoky the bear adverts telling us to fully put out our campfires and cigarettes, etc. It just sucks that a lot of us were stuck getting covid multiple times, have lung damage, and now have to deal with this. Feels bad man

[I_royalty_I]

@(you need an account to see links)
I've been seeing some videos in the NY area, the ones from the tall buildings are insane.

Also I've seen similar videos to what you mentioned about them starting simultaneously and some comments suggesting they were started on purpose. While it seems sketchy, forest fires are also something that just happens with the right conditions and it's possible for those 'right' conditions to overlap in areas. Another factor to take into account is that we only see when the fires are reported, not necessarily their exact start times. So if the helicopter/tracker systems are flying over an area, they'll report all the fires in that area at the same time (since that's when they are seeing them). I wouldn't be surprised if some of them were started deliberately, or accidently, by people - but assuming that the entirely of Canada being on fire is a huge government plot just seems even more far-fetched to me than things just aligning during wildfire season.

I was in a high rise in downtown Manhattan and can confirm it looked like the apocalypse out there. I don’t have any pics saved because I mostly just snapped them out to friends. I hope we get some rain or something soon.

I agree there could be times where multiple instances overlap and everything starts at once. Wildfires can be very sporadic and unpredictable. The video I’m talking about is below. It’s a time lapse that literally shows everything starting at the exact same time. Idk if it’s a genuine video though, but if it is, it’s almost too much of a coincidence for me. Maybe that’s just me being a skeptic and not trusting the media or politicians who spin stories for us. #paranoid
(you need an account to see links)

[John Cena]

That's unfortunate to hear about the cuts to the programs. That doesn't make sense to me?
It would help if it rained a bit more lately. I live in swamp central and it hasn't rained in like two months?

and I do remember all of the smoky the bear adverts telling us to fully put out our campfires and cigarettes, etc. It just sucks that a lot of us were stuck getting covid multiple times, have lung damage, and now have to deal with this. Feels bad man

Yeah, idk what they were thinking. Also I agree, rain would be a huge help. We're supposed to get rain this weekend, so hopefully that will slow down some of the spread in this area.

Omg Smokey the bear, I remember that. I'm still mad that Canada decided to 'retire' him and now we have a fox for our fire mascot.
Also sorry about the covid stuff and your lungs, that's so shitty. Not a good time to be breathing in all the smoke.

- - - Updated - - -

I was in a high rise in downtown Manhattan and can confirm it looked like the apocalypse out there. I don’t have any pics saved because I mostly just snapped them out to friends. I hope we get some rain or something soon.

I agree there could be times where multiple instances overlap and everything starts at once. Wildfires can be very sporadic and unpredictable. The video I’m talking about is below. It’s a time lapse that literally shows everything starting at the exact same time. Idk if it’s a genuine video though, but if it is, it’s almost too much of a coincidence for me. Maybe that’s just me being a skeptic and not trusting the media or politicians who spin stories for us. #paranoid
(you need an account to see links)

Not trying to downplay the video which does seem to support an idea of them starting around the same time period, but just by looking at the comments made by the author of the video they seem to be quite the anti-vaccine/government conspiracy type which makes me think they may not be the best resource for this type of matter.
Also all the fires are pretty grouped up in a large forested area of Quebec which can also just be explained by the drought/intense heat being focused in a common area. If the entire area is being exposed to the same conditions, then it's not really surprising that similar things would happen across the area. At least in my opinion (which is also not an expert on the subject, obviously - just an opinion)

edited to add:
- Small other thing too, all it takes is an ember to start a fire. With the way the wind is blowing, I wouldn't be surprised if the larger fires from around the area had their embers carried over by a gust of wind.