
HVAC repairman Brad Sissell shrugged off the acid-yellow air surrounding him and kept working, preparing a gas pipe for a new range going into a Salem, Ore., home. Less than a half-hour’s drive away, nearly 200,000 acres were burning in one of the major Oregon wildfires that has sent a full tenth of the state’s population fleeing for shelter. But it was a workday and so Sissell kept at his job, masked in the driveway with smoke wreathing his efforts. “We haven’t stopped,” Sissell, 35, said. “We’ve been working the whole time. I know they say the air’s not good for you. I think it’s going to suck for everybody.” The air quality index in Salem has been at the hazardous level since late last week, with people urged to stay indoors lest they risk their health. In fact, the West Coast cities of Portland, Seattle, San Francisco and Vancouver, B.C., have had the worst air quality of all major metropolitan areas in the world as wildfires burn unchecked, the Washington Post reported. Public health experts have warned people up and down the coast to remain indoors with the windows shut and their air conditioners running on recirculated air. The smoke from these wildfires contains fine particles and a toxic mix of chemicals that can irritate the lungs and inflame the airways, said Dr. Clayton… read on >