Los Angeles Wildfires August 2009

* Evacuations have been ordered for parts of La Canada, La Crescenta, Glendale, Altadena, Pasadena, Sunland/Tujunga and Big Tujunga Canyon. I am still searching for more specific information regarding evacuations, street closures, school closures and shelter locations. More information will be forthcoming.

A Smoke Filled Sky Surrounding Downtown L.A.



We are away on a trip to see family in Missouri, but are closely monitoring the wildfire situation in and around Los Angeles. Believe it or not, these wildfires affect the entire Los Angeles area. People (especially children) with Asthma (and other lung conditions) are severely affected by the smoke in the air that seems to seep into everyone's homes through the vents and cracks under the doors...miles and miles away from the fires themselves. There is an ominous sky looming above the entire L.A. area that seems to create a sense of impending doom.

Zero Visibility: A pic taken by a friend of mine today (8.29.09) as she was flying back home to L.A.

(photo taken by Amanda Moore)

We love you, L.A.

Click here to see a slideshow of images of the Los Angeles wildfires.

Click here to see up to date hourly air quality readings for the Los Angeles area.

Click here to see a map of where the fires are located.

Air Pollution From Freeway Extends 1.5 Miles Away

Air Pollution From Freeway Extends 1.5 Miles Away

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It's Not Just an L.A. Thing

I can't believe, I am writing about this again but did anyone see the news about air quality concerns across the country? (Sorry, I don't make the news...I just pass it along). The EPA says that there are 345 counties in the U.S. with unsafe air quality..air that is "unhealthy" to breathe. According to THIS ARTICLE from Yahoo News, the "Environmental Protection Agency announced it was tightening the amount of ozone, commonly known as smog, that will be allowed in the air. But the lower standard still falls short of what most health experts say is needed to significantly reduce heart and asthma attacks from breathing smog-clogged air".

So my big question was "Is Los Angeles on this list?" OF COURSE it was silly! I bet you are wondering if your county is on the list. Well I have the list of 345 counties right here. Check it out:

Alabama: Baldwin, Jefferson, Madison, Mobile, Morgan, Shelby.

Alaska: None.

Arizona: Gila, Maricopa, Pima, Pinal.

Arkansas: Crittenden, Pulaski.

California: Alameda, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, El Dorado, Fresno, Imperial, Inyo, Kern, Kings, Los Angeles, Madera, Mariposa, Merced, Nevada, Orange, Placer, Riverside, Sacramento, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Joaquin, Santa Clara, Shasta, Stanislaus, Sutter, Tehama, Tulare, Tuolumne, Ventura, Yolo.

Colorado: Arapahoe, Douglas, Jefferson, Weld.

Connecticut: Fairfield, Hartford, Litchfield, Middlesex, New Haven, New London, Tolland.

Delaware: Kent, New Castle, Sussex.

Florida: Bay, Duval, Escambia, Hillsborough, Lake, Manatee, Orange, Sarasota, Seminole.

Georgia: Bibb, Clarke, Cobb, Coweta, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Fulton, Gwinnett, Henry, Murray, Paulding, Richmond, Rockdale.

Hawaii: None.

Idaho: Ada.

Illinois: Jersey, Lake, Madison, Saint Clair.

Indiana: Allen, Boone, Clark, Elkart, Greene, Hamilton, Johnson, Lake, LaPorte, Marion, Perry, Porter, St. Joseph, Warrick.

Iowa: None.

Kansas: None.

Kentucky: Boyd, Christian, Greenup, Jefferson, Kenton, Oldham.

Louisiana: Ascension, Bossier, Caddo, Calcasieu, East Baton Rouge, Iberville, Jefferson, Lafourche, Livingston, Ouachita, Pointe Coupee, St. Charles, St. James, St. John the Baptist, West Baton Rouge.

Maine: Hancock.

Maryland: Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Cecil, Charles, Frederick, Harford, Kent, Montgomery, Prince George's, Washington.

Massachusetts: Barnstable, Berkshire, Bristol, Dukes, Essex, Hampden, Hampshire, Middlesex, Norfolk, Suffolk, Worcester.

Michigan: Allegan, Benzie, Berrien, Cass, Genesee, Kent, Lenawee, Macomb, Mason, Muskegon, Ottawa, Schoolcraft, St. Clair, Washtenaw.

Minnesota: None.

Mississippi: DeSoto, Harrison, Jackson.

Missouri: Clay, Clinton, Jefferson, Saint Charles, Saint Louis, Sainte Genevieve, St. Louis City.

Montana: None.

Nebraska: None.

Nevada: Clark.

New Hampshire: Hillsborough.

New Jersey: Atlantic, Bergen, Camden, Cumberland, Gloucester, Hudson, Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, Passaic.

New Mexico: None.

New York: Chautauqua, Erie, Essex, Niagara, Orange, Oswego, Putnam, Queens, Rensselaer, Richmond, Saratoga, Suffolk, Ulster, Westchester.

North Carolina: Cumberland, Davie, Forsyth, Franklin, Graham, Granville, Haywood, Johnston, Lincoln, Mecklenburg, Person, Rowan, Union, Wake.

North Dakota: None.

Ohio: Allen, Ashtabula, Butler, Clark, Clermont, Clinton, Cuyahoga, Delaware, Franklin, Geauga, Greene, Hamilton, Jefferson, Knox, Lake, Licking, Lucas, Madison, Mahoning, Medina, Portage, Stark, Summit, Trumbull, Warren, Washington, Wood.

Oklahoma: Canadian, Cherokee, Comanche, Creek, Kay, Mayes, Oklahoma, Ottawa, Tulsa.

Oregon: None.

Pennsylvania: Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Bucks, Centre, Chester, Clearfield, Dauphin, Delaware, Erie, Greene, Lancaster, Lehigh, Lycoming, Mercer, Montgomery, Northampton, Perry, Philadelphia, Tioga, Washington, Westmoreland, York.

Rhode Island: Kent, Providence, Washington.

South Carolina: Abbeville, Aiken, Darlington, Pickens, Richland, Spartanburg, York.

South Dakota: None.

Tennessee: Anderson, Blount, Davidson, Hamilton, Jefferson, Knox, Loudon, Meigs, Sevier, Shelby, Sullivan, Sumner, Wilson.

Texas: Bexar, Brazoria, Collin, Dallas, Denton, El Paso, Ellis, Galveston, Gregg, Harris, Harrison, Hood, Hunt, Jefferson, Johnson, Montgomery, Orange, Parker, Rockwall, Smith, Tarrant, Travis.

Utah: Davis, Salt Lake, Utah, Washington, Weber.

Vermont: None.

Virginia: Alexandria City, Arlington, Caroline, Charles City, Chesterfield, Fairfax, Hampton City, Hanover, Henrico, Loudoun, Madison, Prince William, Stafford, Suffolk City.

Washington: None.

Washington, D.C.: Washington, D.C.

West Virginia: Cabell, Ohio, Wood.

Wisconsin: Door, Kenosha, Kewaunee, Manitowoc, Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Racine, Sheboygan.

Wyoming: None.

Wood Burning Fireplaces Banned in SoCal

Burning wood in fireplaces within homes in Southern California has been banned. According to the LA Times, this ban will only be applied to homeowners about a dozen days throughout the year when air quality is at its worst. Here are the specifics of this ban:

1. Builders are banned from installing wood burning fireplaces in new homes
2. It will be illegal to buy and install a wood burning fireplace while remodeling a home.
3. Gas burning fireplaces will be allowed.
4. The ban does not apply to restaurants that use wood burning stoves, like California Pizza Kitchen.
5. Homeowners that used a wood burning fireplace as their only source of heat will not be affected.
6. Those who live above 3000 feet in elevation will not be affected.
7. Beach fires will still be allowed
8. Tribal ceremony fires will still be allowed.

The LA Times also said:

Fireplaces are used in about 1.4 million of the 5 million households governed by the district, producing an average six tons a day of particulate soot in the air basin, according to the air district.

Numerous studies have linked fine particulate matter, which sinks deep into the lungs, to increased lung and respiratory problems. State officials say an estimated 5,000 premature deaths each year in the region are linked to fine particulate exposure.

About 106 tons of fine particulate soot is directly emitted every day in the Los Angeles area, according to the air district. The new regulations will reduce that by an average of about 1 ton a day.

The winter wood-burning ban will apply in areas where forecasts show federal daily limits for fine particulate matter will be exceeded. That will amount to about two dozen days from November to March each year, regulators said.

Residents most likely to be affected by the regulation include those in the Inland Empire and the San Gabriel Valley, where soot carried by prevailing winds is trapped by mountains.

People all over Southern California are angry that their personal freedoms are being infringed upon. They think that they should be able to have a fire anytime they please. Here is a quote from the LA Times article:

You're not going to regulate my chimney," Stewart Cumming of San Bernardino told the board during a heated public hearing in Diamond Bar. He vowed to continue using his fireplace as he chose.

L.A. Mama says:
I am sure there are thousands of others who will follow his lead...apparently they have never had a child who has been hospitalized three times between the ages of
1 1/2 and 2 1/2 for severe respiratory distress and asthma. They have never experienced the frightening situation of a toddler gasping for air, turning blue and passing out in their arms like I have. They have never experienced a medical staff that was so concerned about his life that he was almost put on life support. Is it too much to ask someone to not use their fireplace 12 days out of the year for the sake of the health and well-being of others?

This is a pic of California getting one of his daily nebulizer treatments from DADDIO to control his breathing problems and to keep him ALIVE. Those who value their personal freedom over the well-being of others should take a look at this pic, stop being selfish and think twice about their choices.