What's going on, Albuquerque?

Fire!

The skies are hazy and the air is thick, thanks to our neighbors to the west. Last night was particularly bad, with KOB running a banner asking people not to call 911 to report a fire. Also, my swamp cooler has been rendered useless. Boo.

Tags: arizona, smoke, wildfire

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by cathyray on June 3, 2011 at 11:06am

I tried pretending I was smelling a campfire but without the s'mores it was a hard sell. As bad as it was for us (the old man's eyes were really suffering), I felt awful for the folks on fire.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Daniel Torres on June 4, 2011 at 12:18am

This smoke makes it much easier to pretend my whiskey is scotch.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by chantal on June 4, 2011 at 1:07am

One of my FB friends posted a photo with ash from AZ actually covering the hood of their car.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Daniel Torres on June 4, 2011 at 1:11am

When we cleaned our windshield, there was a ton of black muddy goo. Imagine our lungs.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Ron & Linda on June 4, 2011 at 6:44am

Want to keep up with air quality - Check this out

http://www.cherokiwi.com/cumulus/wxaqirssV2.php

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by The Bindi Queen on June 4, 2011 at 10:50am

Ron & Linda, thanks for the link. This is why I have come to hate swamp coolers.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by jeff on June 4, 2011 at 11:46am

you've come to hate swamp coolers because of fire particulates that reach unhealthy levels once every 30 or 40 years or so?

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by The Bindi Queen on June 5, 2011 at 10:44am

Jeff, I'm exceptionally vulnerable to particulates, so for me it's not a 35 year event, but a common problem. And the other thing I hate about swamp coolers are how useless they are when the temp is over 90 and the humidity is high.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by BurqueBinder on June 5, 2011 at 1:45pm

Number of days in ABQ with 90+ temps and high humidity = 0

Maybe a handful of moderately humid days...

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by hundredaire on June 4, 2011 at 11:09pm

Hettie, I feel your pain. It must be unbearable for you to to have to endure a few days of smoky skies here in Albuquerque. If it gets too terrible for you, I propose that you move to Fukishima Province in Japan, or to Eastern Arizona, or perhaps to Joplin Missouri. Surely you can find a more salubrious spot on the map to relish your obscenely overdeveloped sense of entitlement.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Phil_0 on June 4, 2011 at 11:26pm

Uh...what? I think if you read the original post again you'll find it pretty much boils down to "I don't like smokey air." Your threshold for outrage must be set awfully low if that somehow triggers an overblown, snarky response like what you posted.

I don't like smokey air either. It sucks. It hurts my lungs and makes me cough. Dangerously high particulate levels aren't that fun to breath. And yeah, I also know it means hundreds of thousands of acres are burning somewhere, which really sucks. But I guess if I voice that out loud I have an "obscenely overdeveloped sense of entitlement" too, huh?