Beijing or Boise?

I've never seen this much smoke and pollution. Are we in Boise or Beijing?

I lived in the Treasure Valley a long time. I've seen some nasty inversions in the winter, and I've seen the area blanketed by smoke during the summer months. I don't think, however, that I've seen this much smoke over the valley, ever.

In the past few days, we've gone from a yellow alert, to a red alert, and now a purple alert.

A PURPLE air alert today? The photo above is one taken in Beijing, China when they were having horrible pollution problems in 2015. Take a look at that photo, and now look at the one taken in Boise below. (before you hate on me, I was a passenger, not the driver).

We're not that different from the blanket that was over Beijing! According to the EPA a purple air alert is about as bad as it can get. Only maroon is next, and it takes from 'very unhealthy" to "hazardous".

A purple air alert puts our air in the valley at a point where "everyone may experience serious health effects".  Not good.  So stay indoors if you can, and if you must go outside, try not to breathe deep. Take shallow breaths and maybe even wear protection.

Keep those men and women fighting the fires that are raging in the northwest in your thoughts and prayers. They are doing dangerous work. If you are a praying person, pray for rain!

All of us at Wow 104.3 hope you stay safe during these smoky days!

If you want to see a map of all the wildfires burning in the US - CLICK HERE