My son’s work (in SF) gave him a mask yesterday and told him to work from home today. Cal Parents posted a letter from the chancellor saying they were hoping for a change in the wind, but if not they will have to postpone the Big Game.
Daughter at Stanford received a mask last night.
How does a mask help? It doesn’t filter fine particles in the air, does it?
I assume it provides some protection, even if not complete protection.Better than nothing. She’s still mostly staying inside.
the N 95 masks do filter fine particles. But they are hard to come by…even Amazon can’t deliver until next Wednesday earliest 
I wouldn’t know the difference but my daughter did say hers is an N95.
I work in SF and kids go to school in Oakland and Orinda. Both schools cancelled and work said to stay home. I really hope we get some relief soon. Such a rough time in CA right now. This smoke is bad, but it is beyond heartbreaking thinking of the people who have lost everything. Trump is coming tomorrow, I guess. Really hoping he keeps the self aggrandizing and insults at bay and actually acts presidential. Not holding my breath.
My son called to say he was leaving the area early to come home back east for thanksgiving. He has asthma and the smoke is making it very difficult for him to breathe. My prayers are with the families that lost loved ones and property. This has been a tough year…
We evacuated during the Thomas Fire last year and had firefighters in our yard defending our house when the fire moved into our backyard, so we were lucky. I passed two new fires this morning on my way to work and as I was pulled over and watching a fire engine race by faster than I have ever seen one move, I just burst into tears. All of these fires just need to stop.
If the first alert came at 8:38 am, was that soon enough? This article is interesting, says the first awareness was two hours before. It’s wiki, so no idea if that’s correct.
"The Camp Fire started at sunrise on Thursday, November 8, and was first reported at 6:33 a.m. PST, near Pulga, California, near Camp Creek Road in Butte County, California. Soon after the ignition of the Camp Fire, initial attack firefighters were dispatched to a report of a brush fire under Pacific Gas and Electric Company power lines near Poe Dam on the Feather River. Arriving 10 minutes later, the first units on scene observed rapid fire growth and extreme fire behavior, due to low humidity and high winds in the area. The National Weather Service had issued a red flag warning for most of Northern California’s interior, as well as Southern California, through the morning of November 9. Pacific Gas and Electric reported that power lines were down.[13] Shortly after the fire erupted, the Butte County Sheriff’s Office ordered the evacuation of Paradise.[14] Other locations were also issued evacuation orders, while others were issued evacuation warnings, and emergency shelters were established.[15]
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camp_Fire_(2018)
I saw a photo this morning of evacuees from the Paradise fire living in tents in a field. It’s going to get cold and rainy maybe as soon as next week. I haven’t heard whether FEMA trailers are going to be provided. Are any charities looking into permanent housing for these thousands of folks? I would like to know so I could donate.
D went to San Francisco last night from SoCal to visit friends. Trip has been planned for awhile as they are going to a concert tonight. D’s friend had a mask for her when she picked her up at the airport. The friend she is staying with has been working from home for several days.
Oroville’s AQI is currently 309. Our friends are still there; she is a NP who works with many first responders. The stories are horrendous. S1 is in San Jose; haven’t heard from him about the smoke. Will have to poke him.
Does anyone else remember the air-raid type sirens and do they still have those in any areas? When I grew up in the midwest they went off for Tornado warnings. They were in our suburbs and rural towns and could be heard for miles and miles. I think about all the unreliability of texting and cell phone service/signals and trying to get warnings to people. Can’t help but think those good ol’ sirens that may be good to bring back in some areas. Maybe dumb idea, idk.
A sad thing I heard was one guy they interviewed on the news says he warned a neighbor they had to evacuate and the woman went back in the house to quickly put on some make-up, then didn’t make it out.
At its fastest, the Camp Fire in Northern California spread at more than a football field a second, or around 80 football fields per minute. People would never have imagined it was happening that fast. ugh.
Our local Ace Hardware stores seem to be getting N95 masks in each morning, in limited quantities. People were lined up outside the store before 8am. Each person was allowed to buy a set of five masks, already put together in ziploc bags.
We are coming out that way from the east coast. Is that the kind of mask I should look for in Home Depot? I can pack them
@jym626 yes, def pack them, it is really, really bad. We’re staying inside completely, but our 1940 built home with old windows in the Oakland Hills is proving not reliable keeping the smoke out. We’re even smelling it and feeling the effects INDOORS now. Not good at all.
No idea how effective these are but many churches take this seriously. The Baptist relief response folks were among the first in, after Katrina. https://www.redding.com/story/news/local/2018/11/09/camp-fire-how-you-can-help-victims/1942862002/
I would skip orgs with higher overhead costs.
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/11/california-camp-woolsey-wildfires-help-charity-donations.html
Google “efforts to help camp fire victims.” SOme articles are a few days older.
jym626, Update from Walnut Creek, just east of Oakland: The air quality right now is really bad, as crknwk2000 stated. I ran a few errands this morning but the smoke has worsened. To me, this is the worst it has been all week.
@jshain How is the supply of N95 masks out there? I can bring a few boxes.