Summer is a time to enjoy the outdoors and beauty of the Gorge: fishing on the Columbia, trips to Lost Lake, and hiking the Gorge trails. But as we have experienced before, it is also wildfire season when there is less rainfall, more lighting, and more outdoor activities.
Besides the personal and economic harm, wildfires are also a health threat caused by the microscopic particles from the smoke that can penetrate deep into your lungs. These fine particles can cause a range of health problems, including burning eyes, runny nose, scratchy throat, headaches, and illnesses such as bronchitis.
To know the health risks from wildfires, the website www. AirNow.gov, and most weather apps, will give you the current AQI (Air Quality Index) which tells you how clean or polluted the outdoor air is along with associated health effects.
The AQI ranges from 0 – 500 with different levels and health concerns. If you are unusually sensitive to air pollution, when the AQI reaches 101 you may be affected, and at 151 some members of the general public may experience health effects. The higher the index the greater the health concern and if the index is above 300, the smoke is more likely to affect everyone.
So how do we prepare and protect ourselves from wildfire smoke?
- Wear an N95 mask/respirator. When outside, they filter up to 95% of small airborne particles in the air – if it fits properly! Your mask should fit tightly around your face so you can’t smell an air freshener sprayed in the air.
- Choose indoor activities. Avoid strenuous activities outside – you might want to skip working in the garden or mowing the grass. Sounds good to me!
- Create a cleaner air space at home. Close windows and doors and if you have one, continuously run a portable air purifier in one or more rooms.
An air purifier can be expensive – unless your overprotective children buy you one! – but an inexpensive and surprisingly effective alternative is making your own DIY filtration unit. Simply seal a 20–inch square MERV-13 furnace filter (which you can find at any hardware store) to a 20–inch box fan with a bungee cord and you’re set.
To learn how to protect your health and prepare for future smoke events, the first place to go is online at SmokeReadyGorge.org. Besides a wealth of information, the site also has a map of the local air quality monitors in the Gorge, and a link to Fire.AirNow.gov, which has updated wildfire smoke forecasts and smoke safety tips.
Besides spoiling the scenic beauty of the Gorge, wildfire smoke can be detrimental to our health and should be avoided – because we know who’s at the greatest risk. Us!
BRAIN TEASE: You need to do this exercise quickly. So, get ready, set, GO!
Repeat “silk” 10 times. Now spell “silk”.
What do cows drink?
The capital of China is Beijing but until the 1970’s it was known in the Western world as Peking. I received correct answers from Judy Kiser, Pat Evenson-Brady, Donna Mollet, Dave Lutgens, Lana Tepfer, Eva Summers, Doug Nelson, and Nancy Higgins this week’s winner of a quilt raffle ticket. And last week I must have been out to lunch enjoying a fish sandwich because I missed Stephen Woolpert, Kathy Bullack, and Tom Schaefer.
USA Swimming Olympics Trials are being held in my hometown of Indianapolis, so this week has to be a swimming question. Before Matt Biondi, Mark Spitz, and Micheal Phelps, Johnny Weissmuller was an American hero winning five Olympic gold medals in the 1924 and 1928 Olympics. For this week’s “Remember When” question, following his retirement from swimming, what Edgar Rice Burroughs’ character did he play in twelve feature films from 1932 to 1948? Email your answer to www.mcseniorcenter@gmail.com, leave a message at 541-296-4788, or send it with a picture of Jane Parker played by Maureen O’Sullivan.
Well, it’s been another week, losing my head in the wind. Until we meet again, there are times when I feel like a five-year-old walking behind the grownups and trying to stay up.
“Sometimes you lie in bed at night and you don’t have a single thing to worry about. That always worries me!” – Charlie Brown
Nutritious home-delivered and in-person meals are available at noon Monday through Friday unless otherwise noted.
Seniors of Mosier Valley (541-980-1157) – Wednesdays with music on 2nd and 4th Wednesdays; Mt. Hood Townhall (541-308-5997) – Tuesdays; Hood River Valley Adult Center (541-386-2060); Sherman County Senior and Community Center (541-565-3191); The Dalles Meals-on-Wheels (541-298-8333).
For meal sites in Washington, call Klickitat County Senior Services: Goldendale office (509-773-3757) or the White Salmon office (509-493-3068), and in Skamania County call Senior Services (509-427-3990).
Answer: (¿ʞlᴉɯ ssǝnƃ noʎ op) ˙ɹǝʇɐʍ ʞuᴉɹp sʍoƆ
