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Post by UConnChapette on May 7, 2016 11:24:28 GMT -5
With family in Nebraska, I pay attention to the weather conditions in that area, especially during tornado season.
Just saw this alert on The Weather Channel's website - something I have never seen before:
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT UNTIL 1PM CDT SAT
... SMOKE WILL IMPACT AIR QUALITY INTO EARLY AFTERNOON...
SMOKE FROM RECENT FIRES IN NORTHERN MINNESOTA HAS FILTERED INTO THE AREA THIS MORNING WITH VISIBILITIES BEING REDUCED TO 2 TO 3 MILES AT SOME LOCATIONS. THIS SMOKE IS LIKELY TO CAUSE A DECLINE IN AIR QUALITY... AND MAY RESULT IN DIFFICULT BREATHING. THOSE WITH ASTHMA OR OTHER RESPIRATORY PROBLEMS NEED TO TAKE THE NECESSARY PRECAUTIONS TO INSURE THEIR SAFETY.
CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED TO IMPROVE BY EARLY TO MID AFTERNOON AS WARMING TEMPERATURES AND STRENGTHENING WINDS HELP DISPERSE THE SMOKE.
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Post by UConnChapette on May 7, 2016 11:52:50 GMT -5
The footage of the fires and the people fleeing through flames is terrifying. The Canadian fires are devastating. I remember the eve of my 11th birthday. We lived on the edge of the Angeles National Forest, in the foothills of the San Gabriel mountains. Brush fires were raging, however our area seemed relatively safe. So much so that we went out to dinner to celebrate my birthday. When we went into the restaurant, the fire was a fair distance away. When we left, the smoke and glow of the flames was clearly visible, but still a good distance away. There was no sense of panic as I recall, even though our house was on the other side of the slope where the the fire was burning, and there was a good distance, and a few other slopes, in between. By the time we got home, the glow was more visible above the slope immediately opposite our housing development, but not yet over. In the time it took my parents to collect their most prized possessions and the insurance policy and put them in the car "just in case", the flames came over the ridge and started down the slope. My parents watered down the roof, and the brush on the little hill behind our house, then my dad, sister and I went to the end of the cul-de-sac and sat on the brick wall watching the flames quickly creep closer. We were ready to leave, and then saw the most heroic action I have ever been privileged to withness. The owner of the land that was burning relentlessly took his tractor and started plowing under his fields to rob the fire of the fuel it was devouring. I can still very clearly see him on his tractor, shirtless, bouncing up and down on the tractor plowing the field starting from the highway called "Bouquet Canyon Road" up to and THROUGH the flames. That man saved many homes in that singular act, and he put his own life on the line. The picture is from Google Earth, and the small development of houses to the right of Bouquet Canyon Road was not there when we lived there, and is the area that the landowner plowed under so you have a sense of just how close the flames came. I was fascinated, but terrified. We were very fortunate. But I fear many in Canada are not going to be so lucky. My old neighborhood
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Post by chicagogg on May 7, 2016 14:00:48 GMT -5
Prayers going out for all of those poor people! How terrifying for them.
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Post by radylady on May 7, 2016 16:42:24 GMT -5
Wow chappie that's an amazing story! the pictures coming from Alberta Canada are not to be believed it looks like a holocaust - Armageddon - end of the world - and I bet for many many many it certainly feels that way.
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Post by rockymtblue2 on May 7, 2016 18:31:12 GMT -5
The air quality out here in SW Montana was poor for sensitive groups to poor as you moved east. From the Alberta conflagration. Lighten up some today. It's said that only rain is going to put that fire out - substantial rain.
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Post by radylady on May 7, 2016 18:44:16 GMT -5
The air quality out here in SW Montana was poor for sensitive groups to poor as you moved east. From the Alberta conflagration. Lighten up some today. It's said that only rain is going to put that fire out - substantial rain. I have been following that fire on the news....I know that Canada is drought laden...I pray for rain for them....
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Post by rockymtblue2 on May 7, 2016 19:43:51 GMT -5
The air quality out here in SW Montana was poor for sensitive groups to poor as you moved east. From the Alberta conflagration. Lighten up some today. It's said that only rain is going to put that fire out - substantial rain. I have been following that fire on the news....I know that Canada is drought laden...I pray for rain for them.... Strangely, Montana's fire season was mild last year, but between Oregon, Washington and Canada (record acreage burned) our air quality got downright hideous at times last fire season and certainly now Canada is looking grim once again. My Canadian cousins are all in western CA, so, yeah, ditto on the rain prayers.
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Post by radylady on May 7, 2016 20:01:10 GMT -5
getting ready to light some candles and do my thing. Sadly, I am a fire sign...
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Post by radylady on May 8, 2016 10:31:18 GMT -5
Scary headlines: Alberta wildfire growing, may reach Saskatchewan The massive wildfire that forced almost 90,000 people to evacuate in Alberta is growing and approaching the neighboring province of Saskatchewan, Canadian officials said Saturday. Dry and extremely windy conditions are fueling the blaze, which has already scorched more than 1,560 square kilometers (602 square miles) and ravaged the city of Fort McMurray, Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said Saturday. "The situation remains unpredictable and dangerous," he told reporters. "A downpour is needed to tame the fire that is the size of Hong Kong and almost 25% bigger than New York City. It has displaced about 88,000 people, wiped out at least 1,600 structures and sent plumes of smoke as far away as Iowa. The fire may double in size, Goodale said" and some scary images Wow LINK
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Post by radylady on May 8, 2016 10:40:59 GMT -5
From the BBC updated 11:35 EST: Canada wildfire: Alberta blaze reaches Saskatchewan Jesus, Mary and Joseph help them... LINK
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Post by UConnChapette on May 8, 2016 10:59:01 GMT -5
Devastating human toll to homes and possessions, and to wildlife as well. The fact that there have been so few human lives lost is nothing short of a miracle.
Fires have been a part of nature since the earth was born. Fires are an essential part of the regeneration of plant life, but human population has made this cycle of nature a dangerous threat. While the toll on people, property and animals is indeed devastating, there is a certain beauty to some of the images. Frightening, but beautiful. The toll to human belongings and the life changing impact it will have for many is heartbreaking. So I feel guilty about seeing some beauty in the fire images.
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Post by radylady on May 8, 2016 11:48:08 GMT -5
Devastating human toll to homes and possessions, and to wildlife as well. The fact that there have been so few human lives lost is nothing short of a miracle. Fires have been a part of nature since the earth was born. Fires are an essential part of the regeneration of plant life, but human population has made this cycle of nature a dangerous threat. While the toll on people, property and animals is indeed devastating, there is a certain beauty to some of the images. Frightening, but beautiful. The toll to human belongings and the life changing impact it will have for many is heartbreaking. So I feel guilty about seeing some beauty in the fire images. Don't kid yourself. This is El Nino and climate change that brought this about. The systematic destruction of the rain forests is a huge factor
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Post by radylady on May 8, 2016 16:28:29 GMT -5
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Post by chicagogg on May 8, 2016 16:40:21 GMT -5
I am praying for rain up there. Lots and lots of rain. So heartbreaking.
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Post by rockymtblue2 on May 27, 2016 15:36:30 GMT -5
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