When you smell wildfire smoke, you’re inhaling the memory of forests — in this case, Canadian forests nearly a thousand miles upwind. Air quality alerts are posted. Limit outdoor exertion; the next few days would not be ideal for marathon training or grueling bike rides.
One interesting nugget posted by Matt Taraldsen at the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency: The current air quality alert into Saturday ties the state record for the longest such alert — a first for wildfire smoke.
And yes, those leftover N95 respirators from the pandemic filter out at least 95% of airborne particles, including PM2.5, the fine smoke particles that can penetrate deep into the lungs and bloodstream. Lovely.
Sinewy coils of thick wildfire smoke will be with us into the weekend, but if it’s any consolation (dubious), I see hazy, smoky sunshine, lower humidity and comfortable temperatures over the next week, with highs in the 70s. Lake water temperatures are near 80 degrees on many lakes, so water may be warmer than the air, which is odd.
Is it bad form to wear an N95 mask in the lake?
