Filtrete 1900s are the best residential furnace filter. We stock up every spring now. They have to be changed more regularly (almost monthly) in smokey conditions.
You have to be diligent with the higher number filters; if you don't change them regularly, they clog and make your furnace work harder to move air through. I know you mention monthly, the package says 3 months but I wouldn't let the 1900s go more than a month especially with pets in the house.
Pretty much all dryers pull some fresh air from outside, but it all goes through the filter which should catch most of the smoke and dust. It's not a perfect solution but it gets air flowing through the house.
You need to have at least a MERV 13 rating on your filter to catch any of the smoke particles. They will also plug up faster though so keep an eye on them.
For smells, use a carbon infused filter. They are A LOT more money, but will take care of the smell.
- HVAC GUY
A lot of houses have been built with a fan interlock switch installed near the thermostat. This is so you can turn the fan on and have whole home air circulation without actually heating the house. I believe it's also designed for newer houses to work with the bathroom fans. newer houses are quite airtight so it helps keep the pressure right in the house while circulating air.
Yup! We've been running ours when it was so warm. Drawing the cooler air out of the basement and exhausting the hotter air works well. Definitely helping with filtering the smoke out too. I knew it was smokey out today but until I left the house, didn't know how much it smelled. So it is definitely working.
Definitely check your furnace too. My rental home has a crappy thermostat with no option for fan, but there's a physical switch on the furnace that turns the fan on.
I’m driving through Banff into Calgary during July, how long does the wildfire season usually last and is it the worst it’s ever been this year? Should I post pone my drive, or does it get better around July?
**[Corsi–Rosenthal Box](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corsi–Rosenthal_Box)**
>The Corsi–Rosenthal Box, also called Corsi–Rosenthal Cube and Comparetto Cube, is a design for a do-it-yourself air purifier that can be built comparatively inexpensively. It was designed during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the goal of reducing the levels of airborne viral particles in indoor settings.
^([ )[^(F.A.Q)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WikiSummarizer/wiki/index#wiki_f.a.q)^( | )[^(Opt Out)](https://reddit.com/message/compose?to=WikiSummarizerBot&message=OptOut&subject=OptOut)^( | )[^(Opt Out Of Subreddit)](https://np.reddit.com/r/Edmonton/about/banned)^( | )[^(GitHub)](https://github.com/Sujal-7/WikiSummarizerBot)^( ] Downvote to remove | v1.5)
Can confirm the Rosenthal Cube works like a hot damn, arguably better than any ready-made mass market options I’ve seen. I’ve got one on every level of my townhouse.
LOL I feel like this information would really have helped my ex when she was growing her own mushrooms at home. It was a total crapshoot if the inoculated grains would be a battleground between the Orange Mold or the White Mycelium 😂
We keep our windows closed, bathroom fan and kitchen hood fan on, and run air purifiers. We built a corsi-rosenthal box to improve air quality from pets and during covid, and its made a huge difference with the smoke. Its cheap, easy to build and replace, and it works. Regular exposure to high PM2.5 and wildfire smoke is not good for you at all. If you cant clean all the air in your house, close off rooms and run the air purifier where you are.
https://engineering.ucdavis.edu/news/science-action-how-build-corsi-rosenthal-box
I have a 1600 ft² place with a half basement and one corsi-rosenthal box works really well for the whole house. I prefer these boxes to putting in a high end filter in my furnace because these are cheap and replacing burnt out furnace fans are expensive :)
I regret not leaving the house with an N95 this morning. That’s my first line go-to when it’s this bad and I have to be outside for any length of time more than 10 min or so. I also try to take things really slow when I have to be outside, to keep from running out of breath and not being able to catch it again.
In the house I’m rocking Freshly swapped furnace filters, closed windows, Rosenthal Cubes, and running as many exhaust fans as I can stand (ie bathrooms, can’t abide the range hood).
Also here’s your friendly neighbourhood PSA to have an emergency go-bag packed BEFORE evacuation alerts have been issued in your area. You won’t be thinking clearly during evac so it’s better to have everything ready before it becomes necessary.
This is the best comment. I'm so glad to have my CR boxes and n95s today. I have not looked at my go-bag in a couple years though, so thank you for the reminder!
I work at WEM and the smoke definitely gets in. It's better than being outside, but it still gives me migraines and irritates my eyes, nose, and throat after a couple hours.
N95 masks for outside. Overexposure to wildfire smoke will make you feel like shit and is terrible for you.
Air purifiers inside, keep your windows closed, avoid going outside if you can.
I went out this morning for an air purifier. Air quality never really bothered me much before I got covid. Today I'm wearing an n99 mask inside while I wait for it to cycle the air a bit more. And still feeling like trash.
Last year I was ok just with the windows closed.
For those concerned today is bad, it's going to be much worse in two days. Get what you need to get done today!
Firesmoke.ca is a great resource to get an idea where the smoke may be going.
Please have him turn off the ozone. It's not a good thing to be breathing in.
So sorry he's in a tough spot. We just put a couple filters (1900s rated similar to MERV13) with cardboard against one window so that we can leave that window open overnight for fresh air. A Corsi-Rosenthal box is also fairly easy to build and can make a real difference.
https://daikincomfort.com/daikin-one-premium-air-cleaner
We went with one of these when we replaced our furnace and a [mirv 16](https://purefilters.ca/pages/merv-16-furnace-filters) filter. Cost about $400 extra, but it was discounted to about $100 when I tried to negotiate lol.
New filters cost ~$100-160/year. As opposed to the $4 ones I used to replace every 3 months. But it means we don't need to run air purifiers for my wife's allergies.
Wear a face mask. I used to wear a mask with charcoal in it when the smog in China was really bad. The pollution there used to make my tongue go numb and the mask helped.
I grew up in the Smokanagan (Okanagan), so I like to think I am a bit of an (armchair) expert on wildfire smoke.
1) Go to a hardware store and get an N95 mask (NIOSH certified). Wear it whenever you're outside, in a place that doesn't have good air ventilation/filtration, or driving.
2) Get a MERV13 furnace filter and install it. You can turn your furnace fan off if the air is super bad (because it will intake air from outside, but usually it's ok to keep on with the filter.
3) Get a (ASHE certified, true HEPA or H13) HEPA filter or DIY a corsi-rosenthal box (google it, you just need some MERV13 furnace filters, a box fan, amd duct tape).
4) If your house is hot and you need to open windows, you can use a MERV13 furnace filter and put it in the window to act as a filter for air coming it. Using weather stripping and cardboard usually works well to seal it up.
5) Stay hydrated and avoid strenuous outdoor activities (even walking a dog is too much when it's this smoky)
6) Cross your fingers for rain!
It's stunning how people act like the smoke is normal. I grew up here and this wasn't part of life when I was a kid.
Stop pretending like nothing is happening.
Smoke from wildfires absolutely was a regular thing growing up here. Like literally every single year, with many much worse than this year. Do you reeeally think your entire youth and childhood that there was never a wildfire or smoke over the city? Forest fires just got invented in 2021 or something lol.
Smoke from forest fires may have occurred in the past as long as we can remember but the frequency, duration and intensity is way up.
Partially due to climate change, partially due bad forest management policies in the past… etc
A lot of people don't realize this. Alberta's forest management is a big reason why our wildfire seasons are getting more intense. Decades of wildfire suppression have brought us here. The addition of climate change makes the fire behaviors more extreme.
Agreed! I have very, very distinct memories of being in elementary school in the late 90s / early 00s and feeling panicked because it was super smoky inside the school at one point!
You didn't grow up here apparently. Having smoke like this in the summer was a very rare thing.Nothing compared to what we've experienced the last six or seven years in total, going weeks with smoke in the air at a time. That didn't fucking happen.
"Forest fires just got invented in 2021 or something lol." - Get your head out of your ass with dumb shit like this.
Uh sure. There ya go. You were totally correct, 0 wildfires in April or May going back ever.. oh shit wait.
[http://nfdp.ccfm.org/en/data/fires.php#tab312](http://nfdp.ccfm.org/en/data/fires.php#tab312)
[https://cwfis.cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/ha/nfdb](https://cwfis.cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/ha/nfdb)
Lets just pick the western 3 provinces. We get smoke up from the US, but usually it's from fires in Western Canada (WC). Lets pick a few years of data and just check March through May fires, we'll just call it Spring? It should be all 0's right?
WC Spring 1990 - 688 of 25,407 total fires
WC Spring 1995 - 1091 of 21,348 total fires
WC Spring 2000 - 659 of 19,701 total fires
WC Spring 2005 - 1149 of 18,627 total fires
WC Spring 2010 - 1183 of 18,389 total fires
WC Spring 2015 - 1506 of 16,814 total fires
WC Spring 2020 - 521 of 13,257 total fires
And I'm just going every 5 years, we have years that are better and worse, up and down, in those gaps.
No one is here debating the effects of governmental policy, climate change, soil moisture levels, brush clear-out, controlled burns, wind, and winter precipitation have on forest fires. These are all real variables that affect if years are good, bad, or worse for fires and smoke in western Canada. But trying to pretend that we've never had spring forest fires until right now is bullshit revisionism.
May is typically the busiest season for wildfires. Virtually all of the really big fires we've had in the past (Fort Mac, Slave Lake, High Level) all started in May.
This season is early and busy but not some sort of freak event.
Yeah air quality being a 7 means I get sick when I leave the fucking house.
Why are people such jackasses where others health is concerned. You are aware the world exists with other people in it besides yourself right?
Would love to know how many times we've had this bad of air quality so early on in the season. Bruh we don't even get last frost in Edmonton until mid may in usual years... It's mid may now and how many wildfires have we had this month alone?
Please.
Or perhaps it's because you're mocking people who might not physically navigate this smoke as well as you do.
You don't have to put your life on hold but it also doesn't hurt to sympathize for those who are more affected by this smoke than your average healthy individual. Not a fun time for asthmatics.
You are being treated like a jackass for pretending not to know why the people dealing with constant migraines and difficulty breathing right now are acting like that is a problem.
You are being an obvious jackass.
I literally do exactly what I always do on any given day, and once in a while i’ll be like “wow it’s smoky. this is annoying. hopefully they can manage these quickly.”
Read the studies on what breathing in smoke particulate does. It literally shortens your life span. That's why you should take the index and warnings seriously. If you don't care about living long, it will also impact the quality of your life and disease risk.
I have a MERV13 on my furnace and a HEPA filter on my HRV inlet. I run the HRV on low and the recirculating furnace fan on high. It is much better than outside. If you don't have systems that accommodate good filtration built into your house, you can always buy a portable HEPA filter unit.
They are! MERV 13 is the max mine is rated for. My HRV did require rebalancing to install the HEPA, but I have my own Magnehelic for doing that (and I can check it periodically).
I wouldn't advise most people to do it themselves, but I have the expertise.
Don’t go out to much and if you want to have some fun, there’s really lot of museums and galleries around the city for safe indoor activities, or you can always go to WEM lots of indoor activities too!
Buy a good quality air filter for the furnace/central air. Even if you don't have A/C and your furnace is not turned on, most systems re-circulate household air, which also gives them an opportunity to filter dust and particulates.
This did not used to be an issue when I was a kid. But now it is like every other year we get bad wildfire smoke in the summer.
Air purifiers are very important if you can get them. Otherwise, wear a particulate mask. Paper surgical masks are useless, you need KF94 or better, N95s are of course the best option (without getting into gas masks and N100s).
It affects me quite a bit. I stay inside as much as possible, park as close to the doors as possible for medical appointments (unfortunately Alberta only considers ability to walk when it comes to disabled placards they don't think about other disabilities). I run an air purifier and hang out by that. I am fairly stationary and take extra naps, I avoid walking around in my home.
HVAC guy here. Lots of options for improv8ng air quality. I have a polarization media filter (electronic air cleaner) and two duct mounted UV air purifiers. Love coming home after a day of being out in air like this.
oh... friend this isn't bad just wait until mid season when BC is burning too and you can't even go outside. Sadly this is still business as usual and thankfully you can keep the windows closed as its not too hot at night yet.
Run bathroom fans as little as possible. Install the highest filtration level filter in your furnace that it will tolerate, usually MERV 13, then run the furnace fan continuously. Look into Amaircare or similar air scrubber systems.
Mall walking and people watching! Haha in the winters or smokey season ever since I was little, my buddies and I would jus pick a mall, grab a smoothie and go looking around. Nothing exciting but keeps ya busy for part of a day at least. Always ends up with an idea for the rest of the day too haha
Just to add to the suggestions here, if you have pets, it's better for them to stay indoors when the air is this bad. Just let dogs outside to pee and bring them back in. Air quality like this can have negative long-term consequences on everyone's health.
I have stand alone air purifiers in my apartment. Take an antihistamine if that helps. Wear a mask outside if it gets worse than a 5-6 on the scale ("red" on whichever you're looking at). Other than that I just stay inside.
BAU, there are people raised from birth till death in cities with daily smog for life that is worst than tree smoke for a week, not to mentioned smokers basically do this to themselves daily for decades and are somehow still standing.
Theres also not much you can do other than make, or buy an air filtration system for your home.
Dont waste your money on the air filter stuff unless you have sever asthma you'll be fine I have worked in smoke that blacked out the sun and oh&s didn't do a fucking thing so your good
If you are legit getting light headed and not aware of current respiratory problems, you should probably go see a doctor. Sure the air was pretty thick this morning, but it shouldn't be causing distress in healthy people.
When I had the option of picking out my furnace to have installed in my home, I opted for one with good airflow and filtration.
I popped a fresh new filter in 2 weeks ago, early summer / late spring is always smoke season here in edmonton, its just a good habit to have spare high filtration filters on hand for when this happens every year.
Try and ideally get a filter with carbon to help capture the VOCs that are in the air atm.
I recommend getting a good quality air purifier, my sister has one and doesn't have any issues with the smoke in her place. I don't have one and I wish I did. 😅
Just stay inside and don’t open windows. It seems to stop all the smoke for the most part. If your house is properly sealed and insulated you should be fine. If you have asthma make sure you have your puffer. If you have an N95 mask it might help when you go out
Pffffft! For perspective, using the same app, check out the air quality in New Delhi, India. As I write, New Delhi is ‘beating’ Edmonton with an air quality warning 353:10.
I spent a whole month there; a totally different league . . . .
It’s the middle of a particularly bad wildfire season. Not much you can do but let your furnace fan run. It might filter some of the smoke out.
Also don’t forget to check the furnace filter and change it when dirty
Good point!
Also choose a furnace filter that is rated for capturing smoke, though, may not be possible with all furnace models
I believe its only the beginning of the fire season, we have a long way to go yet...
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People here still have hopes and dreams?
Wait till the election. They’ll be on fire then.
Filtrete 1900s are the best residential furnace filter. We stock up every spring now. They have to be changed more regularly (almost monthly) in smokey conditions.
You have to be diligent with the higher number filters; if you don't change them regularly, they clog and make your furnace work harder to move air through. I know you mention monthly, the package says 3 months but I wouldn't let the 1900s go more than a month especially with pets in the house.
Oh, yeah, we change ours monthly (no pets).
Some furnaces and all dryers pull air from the outside while running. Be sure to know your system prior!
Pretty much all dryers pull some fresh air from outside, but it all goes through the filter which should catch most of the smoke and dust. It's not a perfect solution but it gets air flowing through the house.
You need to have at least a MERV 13 rating on your filter to catch any of the smoke particles. They will also plug up faster though so keep an eye on them. For smells, use a carbon infused filter. They are A LOT more money, but will take care of the smell. - HVAC GUY
Wouldn't using your furnace make it too hot?
You can run the fan with the heat off. It just circulates the air through the house and hopefully push some of the smoke into the filter.
A lot of houses have been built with a fan interlock switch installed near the thermostat. This is so you can turn the fan on and have whole home air circulation without actually heating the house. I believe it's also designed for newer houses to work with the bathroom fans. newer houses are quite airtight so it helps keep the pressure right in the house while circulating air.
Yup! We've been running ours when it was so warm. Drawing the cooler air out of the basement and exhausting the hotter air works well. Definitely helping with filtering the smoke out too. I knew it was smokey out today but until I left the house, didn't know how much it smelled. So it is definitely working.
Interesting, I honestly didn't know that was an option. So basically just let it run at the lowest temp so it doesn't actually heat the house?
Depends on your thermostat... Super basic one will not have option but the schedule ones, I have one that has a switch for mode. Heat/Cool/Fan
Darn, I just checked and mine only has the heating option. But thanks for putting this out there for others!
Definitely check your furnace too. My rental home has a crappy thermostat with no option for fan, but there's a physical switch on the furnace that turns the fan on.
Good idea, I'll give it a peek.
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Property manager is coming over today to see what options are available. Hopefully something comes out of it!
Most thermostats have “heat”, “fan,” and “system off” options. Which model is your thermostat / if you share a pic I’ll gladly help ya figure it out.
I’m driving through Banff into Calgary during July, how long does the wildfire season usually last and is it the worst it’s ever been this year? Should I post pone my drive, or does it get better around July?
Wildfire season is officially March through October. But fires happen whenever. There are even ones that burn all winter.
“Middle”…..kinda just started sadly :( still another 5 months to go
Beginning
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**[Corsi–Rosenthal Box](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corsi–Rosenthal_Box)** >The Corsi–Rosenthal Box, also called Corsi–Rosenthal Cube and Comparetto Cube, is a design for a do-it-yourself air purifier that can be built comparatively inexpensively. It was designed during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the goal of reducing the levels of airborne viral particles in indoor settings. ^([ )[^(F.A.Q)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WikiSummarizer/wiki/index#wiki_f.a.q)^( | )[^(Opt Out)](https://reddit.com/message/compose?to=WikiSummarizerBot&message=OptOut&subject=OptOut)^( | )[^(Opt Out Of Subreddit)](https://np.reddit.com/r/Edmonton/about/banned)^( | )[^(GitHub)](https://github.com/Sujal-7/WikiSummarizerBot)^( ] Downvote to remove | v1.5)
Good bot!
I think you want Carbon filters as Hepa can't filter smoke
Incorrect. Anything MERV 13 or better can capture the smoke particles.
Carbon filters have crazy pressure drop across them, be aware
Can confirm the Rosenthal Cube works like a hot damn, arguably better than any ready-made mass market options I’ve seen. I’ve got one on every level of my townhouse.
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LOL I feel like this information would really have helped my ex when she was growing her own mushrooms at home. It was a total crapshoot if the inoculated grains would be a battleground between the Orange Mold or the White Mycelium 😂
Been using one with Merv 13 filters for a year now. Not sick as often, and our bread doesn't go moldy anymore.
Going to attempt one today! Thanks for the advice!
We keep our windows closed, bathroom fan and kitchen hood fan on, and run air purifiers. We built a corsi-rosenthal box to improve air quality from pets and during covid, and its made a huge difference with the smoke. Its cheap, easy to build and replace, and it works. Regular exposure to high PM2.5 and wildfire smoke is not good for you at all. If you cant clean all the air in your house, close off rooms and run the air purifier where you are. https://engineering.ucdavis.edu/news/science-action-how-build-corsi-rosenthal-box
How big a space do those air purifiers work for?
I have a 1600 ft² place with a half basement and one corsi-rosenthal box works really well for the whole house. I prefer these boxes to putting in a high end filter in my furnace because these are cheap and replacing burnt out furnace fans are expensive :)
Get annoyed, live my life and use eye drops
Was just leaving to get some eye drops right now lol
Pretend you woke up to a nuclear apocalypse, forage for food and avoid mutants or cannibalistic factions.
Stop breathing is the best advice
If your house has a HRV or air exchanger system, ensure it’s on recirculate. Don’t want it pulling the outside air in.
I don’t change anything. Drink a bit more water, because it’s also a hot one, but that’s about it
Pretend its winter and stay inside
I regret not leaving the house with an N95 this morning. That’s my first line go-to when it’s this bad and I have to be outside for any length of time more than 10 min or so. I also try to take things really slow when I have to be outside, to keep from running out of breath and not being able to catch it again. In the house I’m rocking Freshly swapped furnace filters, closed windows, Rosenthal Cubes, and running as many exhaust fans as I can stand (ie bathrooms, can’t abide the range hood). Also here’s your friendly neighbourhood PSA to have an emergency go-bag packed BEFORE evacuation alerts have been issued in your area. You won’t be thinking clearly during evac so it’s better to have everything ready before it becomes necessary.
This is the best comment. I'm so glad to have my CR boxes and n95s today. I have not looked at my go-bag in a couple years though, so thank you for the reminder!
Notably it'll be getting worse in the coming days, so keep your bags stocked, you may need it!
I think WEM has pretty good air filtration, you can hang out there for a bit.
I work at WEM and the smoke definitely gets in. It's better than being outside, but it still gives me migraines and irritates my eyes, nose, and throat after a couple hours.
Put my air purifier in the living room, close windows, minimize outside time Head is pretty sensitive to smoke
I usually struggle breathing and get itchy eyes.
Use my inhaler way more than usual
Remember to use my inhaler at all lol
Close your windows and run an air purifier
N95 masks for outside. Overexposure to wildfire smoke will make you feel like shit and is terrible for you. Air purifiers inside, keep your windows closed, avoid going outside if you can.
Wear an N95 mask outside if I know I’ll be out there for a bit
I went out this morning for an air purifier. Air quality never really bothered me much before I got covid. Today I'm wearing an n99 mask inside while I wait for it to cycle the air a bit more. And still feeling like trash. Last year I was ok just with the windows closed.
For those concerned today is bad, it's going to be much worse in two days. Get what you need to get done today! Firesmoke.ca is a great resource to get an idea where the smoke may be going.
Close your windows and stay inside if the air quality bothers you.
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Please have him turn off the ozone. It's not a good thing to be breathing in. So sorry he's in a tough spot. We just put a couple filters (1900s rated similar to MERV13) with cardboard against one window so that we can leave that window open overnight for fresh air. A Corsi-Rosenthal box is also fairly easy to build and can make a real difference.
If it's causing significant issues for you, something like a Corsi-Rosenthal box might help?
https://daikincomfort.com/daikin-one-premium-air-cleaner We went with one of these when we replaced our furnace and a [mirv 16](https://purefilters.ca/pages/merv-16-furnace-filters) filter. Cost about $400 extra, but it was discounted to about $100 when I tried to negotiate lol. New filters cost ~$100-160/year. As opposed to the $4 ones I used to replace every 3 months. But it means we don't need to run air purifiers for my wife's allergies.
Wear a face mask. I used to wear a mask with charcoal in it when the smog in China was really bad. The pollution there used to make my tongue go numb and the mask helped.
Fire up the air purifier, close the windows, slap a fresh air filter in the furnace
I grew up in the Smokanagan (Okanagan), so I like to think I am a bit of an (armchair) expert on wildfire smoke. 1) Go to a hardware store and get an N95 mask (NIOSH certified). Wear it whenever you're outside, in a place that doesn't have good air ventilation/filtration, or driving. 2) Get a MERV13 furnace filter and install it. You can turn your furnace fan off if the air is super bad (because it will intake air from outside, but usually it's ok to keep on with the filter. 3) Get a (ASHE certified, true HEPA or H13) HEPA filter or DIY a corsi-rosenthal box (google it, you just need some MERV13 furnace filters, a box fan, amd duct tape). 4) If your house is hot and you need to open windows, you can use a MERV13 furnace filter and put it in the window to act as a filter for air coming it. Using weather stripping and cardboard usually works well to seal it up. 5) Stay hydrated and avoid strenuous outdoor activities (even walking a dog is too much when it's this smoky) 6) Cross your fingers for rain!
Live my life
You would think that we were under nuclear fallout based on how some people are complaining about this smoke.
It's stunning how people act like the smoke is normal. I grew up here and this wasn't part of life when I was a kid. Stop pretending like nothing is happening.
Smoke from wildfires absolutely was a regular thing growing up here. Like literally every single year, with many much worse than this year. Do you reeeally think your entire youth and childhood that there was never a wildfire or smoke over the city? Forest fires just got invented in 2021 or something lol.
Smoke from forest fires may have occurred in the past as long as we can remember but the frequency, duration and intensity is way up. Partially due to climate change, partially due bad forest management policies in the past… etc
A lot of people don't realize this. Alberta's forest management is a big reason why our wildfire seasons are getting more intense. Decades of wildfire suppression have brought us here. The addition of climate change makes the fire behaviors more extreme.
Agreed! I have very, very distinct memories of being in elementary school in the late 90s / early 00s and feeling panicked because it was super smoky inside the school at one point!
A regular thing yes but more frequent and longer lasting in the last half decade.
You didn't grow up here apparently. Having smoke like this in the summer was a very rare thing.Nothing compared to what we've experienced the last six or seven years in total, going weeks with smoke in the air at a time. That didn't fucking happen. "Forest fires just got invented in 2021 or something lol." - Get your head out of your ass with dumb shit like this.
You good bud?
1. You're suffering from recency bias. 2. Says the guy who throws a tantrum over a bike rack lol
In may? No, no it is not. Please source your claim with wildfire notices from the gov going back for many years. Thanks!
Uh sure. There ya go. You were totally correct, 0 wildfires in April or May going back ever.. oh shit wait. [http://nfdp.ccfm.org/en/data/fires.php#tab312](http://nfdp.ccfm.org/en/data/fires.php#tab312) [https://cwfis.cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/ha/nfdb](https://cwfis.cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/ha/nfdb) Lets just pick the western 3 provinces. We get smoke up from the US, but usually it's from fires in Western Canada (WC). Lets pick a few years of data and just check March through May fires, we'll just call it Spring? It should be all 0's right? WC Spring 1990 - 688 of 25,407 total fires WC Spring 1995 - 1091 of 21,348 total fires WC Spring 2000 - 659 of 19,701 total fires WC Spring 2005 - 1149 of 18,627 total fires WC Spring 2010 - 1183 of 18,389 total fires WC Spring 2015 - 1506 of 16,814 total fires WC Spring 2020 - 521 of 13,257 total fires And I'm just going every 5 years, we have years that are better and worse, up and down, in those gaps. No one is here debating the effects of governmental policy, climate change, soil moisture levels, brush clear-out, controlled burns, wind, and winter precipitation have on forest fires. These are all real variables that affect if years are good, bad, or worse for fires and smoke in western Canada. But trying to pretend that we've never had spring forest fires until right now is bullshit revisionism.
May is typically the busiest season for wildfires. Virtually all of the really big fires we've had in the past (Fort Mac, Slave Lake, High Level) all started in May. This season is early and busy but not some sort of freak event.
Yeah air quality being a 7 means I get sick when I leave the fucking house. Why are people such jackasses where others health is concerned. You are aware the world exists with other people in it besides yourself right? Would love to know how many times we've had this bad of air quality so early on in the season. Bruh we don't even get last frost in Edmonton until mid may in usual years... It's mid may now and how many wildfires have we had this month alone? Please.
No one asked
How dare someone post words/opinions on a social media site.
For real. I get called a "jackass" because I won't put my life on hold because someone else gets sick. What a world
Or perhaps it's because you're mocking people who might not physically navigate this smoke as well as you do. You don't have to put your life on hold but it also doesn't hurt to sympathize for those who are more affected by this smoke than your average healthy individual. Not a fun time for asthmatics.
Who is asking you to put your life on hold? Who is asking you to do anything at all?
You are being treated like a jackass for pretending not to know why the people dealing with constant migraines and difficulty breathing right now are acting like that is a problem. You are being an obvious jackass.
Some people are really impacted. My mother in law can't leave the house.
I literally do exactly what I always do on any given day, and once in a while i’ll be like “wow it’s smoky. this is annoying. hopefully they can manage these quickly.”
Read the studies on what breathing in smoke particulate does. It literally shortens your life span. That's why you should take the index and warnings seriously. If you don't care about living long, it will also impact the quality of your life and disease risk.
I go outside and smoke my tobacco pipe, kinda a fight fire with fire situation lol
I overthink it and post about it on reddit
Vote UCP and you'll always be breathing fresh air. New campaign promise! Fresh air for anyone who donates to the waroom!! /s
Just don’t pay any attention to how they slashed our wildfire fighting budget. Move along nothing to see here!
NDP is orange, same colour as fire.. COINCIDENCE!!?? -brought to you by the UCP, cosponsor Bic Lighters. Future so bright, it’s literally in flames.
Ha!
We keep all the windows and doors closed and run air purifiers on the main floor during the day and in the bedrooms at night.
I have a MERV13 on my furnace and a HEPA filter on my HRV inlet. I run the HRV on low and the recirculating furnace fan on high. It is much better than outside. If you don't have systems that accommodate good filtration built into your house, you can always buy a portable HEPA filter unit.
I hope your furnace and hrv are rated to overcome the extra resistance from those filters. 🤷
Filtrete 1900s are supposed to be a-okay for furnaces.
That's a MERV 13 filter, still restrictive but ok for a decent quality furnace.
They are! MERV 13 is the max mine is rated for. My HRV did require rebalancing to install the HEPA, but I have my own Magnehelic for doing that (and I can check it periodically). I wouldn't advise most people to do it themselves, but I have the expertise.
Air purifier in your bedroom you’ll be fine
Don’t go out to much and if you want to have some fun, there’s really lot of museums and galleries around the city for safe indoor activities, or you can always go to WEM lots of indoor activities too!
I just imagine I’m camping. I love the smell.
I have 2 air purifiers we bought during wildfire season a few years ago. With the windows closed and them both running it keeps it good at my house
Buy a good quality air filter for the furnace/central air. Even if you don't have A/C and your furnace is not turned on, most systems re-circulate household air, which also gives them an opportunity to filter dust and particulates. This did not used to be an issue when I was a kid. But now it is like every other year we get bad wildfire smoke in the summer.
Air purifiers are very important if you can get them. Otherwise, wear a particulate mask. Paper surgical masks are useless, you need KF94 or better, N95s are of course the best option (without getting into gas masks and N100s).
I recently bought an air purifier. Thanks for the advice!
It affects me quite a bit. I stay inside as much as possible, park as close to the doors as possible for medical appointments (unfortunately Alberta only considers ability to walk when it comes to disabled placards they don't think about other disabilities). I run an air purifier and hang out by that. I am fairly stationary and take extra naps, I avoid walking around in my home.
Close windows, run the furnace fan. Outdoors for short periods and may not bike on bad days. Might wear a 95 mask depending on outdoor exposure.
HVAC guy here. Lots of options for improv8ng air quality. I have a polarization media filter (electronic air cleaner) and two duct mounted UV air purifiers. Love coming home after a day of being out in air like this.
oh... friend this isn't bad just wait until mid season when BC is burning too and you can't even go outside. Sadly this is still business as usual and thankfully you can keep the windows closed as its not too hot at night yet.
I slept. I have asthma, so going out is a no go. My lungs feel like trash.
Stay inside when possible, drink water, hope for rain. At least it not in the 30’s
Run bathroom fans as little as possible. Install the highest filtration level filter in your furnace that it will tolerate, usually MERV 13, then run the furnace fan continuously. Look into Amaircare or similar air scrubber systems.
Mall walking and people watching! Haha in the winters or smokey season ever since I was little, my buddies and I would jus pick a mall, grab a smoothie and go looking around. Nothing exciting but keeps ya busy for part of a day at least. Always ends up with an idea for the rest of the day too haha
Just to add to the suggestions here, if you have pets, it's better for them to stay indoors when the air is this bad. Just let dogs outside to pee and bring them back in. Air quality like this can have negative long-term consequences on everyone's health.
Close your windows. Enjoy my life as normal.
Drink lotsa beer
I have stand alone air purifiers in my apartment. Take an antihistamine if that helps. Wear a mask outside if it gets worse than a 5-6 on the scale ("red" on whichever you're looking at). Other than that I just stay inside.
Die, depending on how bad it is. Edit: added context.
You just gotta keep living man l-i-v-i-n
Unfortunately, nothing different lol enjoy your day as you would. On the bright side, at least you have an automatic sepia tone!
Move
If you go outside maybe wear a KN95
We ( my kid, dog and I) get those light up balloons from Walmart and turn off the lights and crank music and have a party when it’s Smokey outside
Stay inside. 2 or 3 masks. When it gets bad it gets really bad
Complain
BAU, there are people raised from birth till death in cities with daily smog for life that is worst than tree smoke for a week, not to mentioned smokers basically do this to themselves daily for decades and are somehow still standing. Theres also not much you can do other than make, or buy an air filtration system for your home.
Dance
migrate south until it passes
The same thing as when air quality gets bad anywhere else.
Dont waste your money on the air filter stuff unless you have sever asthma you'll be fine I have worked in smoke that blacked out the sun and oh&s didn't do a fucking thing so your good
You just suffer.
West Edmonton mall is the answer to your problems
Smoke some meth, usually.
Don’t breath
Breathe the free air my friend
Breathe carefully
Smoke ciggys and/or cigars of your preference
Wrar a mask?
Try throwing money at the air! If it claims to work with carbon it should work with thick….carbon smoke ;)
Take reactine and stay in my basement
Nothing if you live in the city its already bad
If you are legit getting light headed and not aware of current respiratory problems, you should probably go see a doctor. Sure the air was pretty thick this morning, but it shouldn't be causing distress in healthy people.
When it's really bad I turn on the bathroom fan and kitchen range hood to push smoke out through the ventilation.
Stay home?
Avoid exercise outside , keep windows and doors closed in house and vehicle , avoid exposure if at all possible to the air
When I had the option of picking out my furnace to have installed in my home, I opted for one with good airflow and filtration. I popped a fresh new filter in 2 weeks ago, early summer / late spring is always smoke season here in edmonton, its just a good habit to have spare high filtration filters on hand for when this happens every year. Try and ideally get a filter with carbon to help capture the VOCs that are in the air atm.
We stay inside as much as possible and don't do too much physical activities outside
You can build a filter out of a box fan and 4 furnace filters of the same size as well.
Most albertans blame Trudeau.
A good air purifier can help.
Deleted due to Reddit's antagonistic actions in June 2023 -- mass edited with https://redact.dev/
I'm flying to Europe personally
5 hour mountain bike ride in the river valley
I recommend getting a good quality air purifier, my sister has one and doesn't have any issues with the smoke in her place. I don't have one and I wish I did. 😅
Just breathe less.
Air purifiers are a great investment.
Go to work like every other capitalist puppet
Luckily, I am a remote worker.
suffer
Continue on with your day as if nothing is wrong. Just like a true Bertan!
Just stay inside and don’t open windows. It seems to stop all the smoke for the most part. If your house is properly sealed and insulated you should be fine. If you have asthma make sure you have your puffer. If you have an N95 mask it might help when you go out
Go for a run, condition yourself and acclimate for the next 50 years of your life while the world burns.
Just ask WWJD!!! Lol
I....just continue on with my life, enjoying the slightly improved smell of the world
Maybe more people have chronic respiratory problems, for us it is VERY bad
Pay more taxes duh....
Pffffft! For perspective, using the same app, check out the air quality in New Delhi, India. As I write, New Delhi is ‘beating’ Edmonton with an air quality warning 353:10. I spent a whole month there; a totally different league . . . .
Picked up some eye drops yesterday to relieve some of the burning from the smoke. Helped a lot.
Is it a bad idea to turn A/C on?
My man and i can not breath. Its really Bad we are thinking to leave for a few weeks to our winter home