Dozens of wildfires are creating havoc from Montana to California, forcing thousands of residents to evacuate as others across the northwest face health hazards from the intense smoke. The smoke and choking ash from fires in Oregon are forcing people to cover their faces with scarves just so they can breathe. “You can’t really stand outside without getting rained on” by ash, said Joanna Fisher as she
walked to work in Troutdale, Oregon. Locals in the Portland area are comparing all the ash and soot to the aftermath of the volcanic eruption of Mount St. Helens back in 1980. “The particulate matter that shows up on the cars, it gets in your hair, it gets in your eyes, it’s all over the place like it was in those days,” said Don Hamilton, a spokesman for the Oregon Department of Transportation. READ MORE
