“My parents sent me pictures from outside of our house in Seattle, WA, and you couldn’t see farther than a couple feet in front of you because of the smoke. It just rained so the smoke has mostly cleared, but when it was bad they were more afraid of the smoke at the time than COVID” –Maggie Taylor ’22

“The fires in my town, Tahoe Ca., have been closing in on us. Although my family and friends have yet to be evacuated, they have been instructed to stay inside due to air quality reaching up to air quality worse than 200 AQI. The Lake Tahoe basin received a small amount of rain over the weekend which made visibility and breathable air a little better,” Magnolia Neu ’22 

“It just rained there a few days ago so the smoke has kind of cleared up. But they are getting more smoke this week because there are still new fires. I know that Whitworth University in Spokane canceled all sport practices last week because of the smoke. Every September is like this now and it’s kind of starting to look like Mad Max out there…we are lucky to be going to a school here where evacuations are not regular this time of year. We thought this summer was going to be better because last summer was so bad, there was nothing left to burn”  Otto VanDerhouef ’22