Choking Air from Western Fires Worst on Planet
2020-09-16
LRC
TXT
大字
小字
滚动
全页
1Wildfires burning across the western United States will continue releasing smelly, harmful air until later in the week or after that, scientists say.
2They add that the smoky, cloud-covered skies might last even longer.
3People in Oregon, Washington and parts of California were struggling with yellowish-green smog caused by the fires.
4The air is the worst, most unhealthy air on the planet, by some measurements.
5The bad air is everywhere.
6It has entered homes and businesses.
7It caused the Oregon Zoo in Portland to close.
8No one can escape it.
9"I don't think that we should be outside, but at the same time, we've been cooped up in the house already for months," said Issa Ubidia-Luckett of Portland.
10"I mean, we shouldn't be outside period."
11Oregon's Department of Environmental Quality extended its air quality warning until Thursday. It was supposed to end on Monday.
12On Monday, Alaska Airlines announced it was suspending flights to Portland and Spokane, Washington, until late Tuesday.
13The company said the air was too thick.
14Zoe Flanagan has lived in Portland for 12 years.
15She rarely leaves her house.
16She went out into the smog to walk her two dogs Monday.
17"I can feel it in my chest and.... I just couldn't get enough water, I had a headache," she said.
18Dylan Darling is a spokesman for Oregon's Department of Environmental Quality.
19"I grew up in Oregon and lived here a long time, and to see this much smoke for this long and wide spreading, really stands out in the state's history," he said.
20Some areas of central California covered with smoke are not likely to see conditions improve until October, said meteorologist Dan Borsum.
21He is studying weather conditions and sharing his information with firefighters in Northern California.
22"It's going to take a...strong weather pattern to move all the smoke," he told reporters Sunday night.
23Borsum added that smoke from over 20 wildfires in the West and throughout California is gathering in the Central Valley.
24The area already has some of California's worst air quality, even before the wildfires.
25Darling said that during earlier wildfires in Oregon, such as the fires of 2017, people could travel to other parts of the state for fresh air. Not this time.
26"There just isn't a place in Oregon right now to find fresh air," Darling said.
27Tyler Kranz is a meteorologist at the U.S. National Weather Service office in Portland.
28He said Oregon will need strong winds blowing from the ocean towards land to clear the air.
29But he said there needs to be a "perfect balance" of wind so that it blows away the smoke but does not start more fires.
30"We need the winds to get the smoke out of here," Kranz said.
31"We just don't want them to be too strong, because then they could fan those flames and all of a sudden those fires are spreading again."
32I'm Susan Shand.
1Wildfires burning across the western United States will continue releasing smelly, harmful air until later in the week or after that, scientists say. They add that the smoky, cloud-covered skies might last even longer. 2People in Oregon, Washington and parts of California were struggling with yellowish-green smog caused by the fires. The air is the worst, most unhealthy air on the planet, by some measurements. 3The bad air is everywhere. It has entered homes and businesses. It caused the Oregon Zoo in Portland to close. No one can escape it. 4"I don't think that we should be outside, but at the same time, we've been cooped up in the house already for months," said Issa Ubidia-Luckett of Portland. "I mean, we shouldn't be outside period." 5Oregon's Department of Environmental Quality extended its air quality warning until Thursday. It was supposed to end on Monday. 6On Monday, Alaska Airlines announced it was suspending flights to Portland and Spokane, Washington, until late Tuesday. The company said the air was too thick. 7Zoe Flanagan has lived in Portland for 12 years. She rarely leaves her house. She went out into the smog to walk her two dogs Monday. 8"I can feel it in my chest and.... I just couldn't get enough water, I had a headache," she said. 9Dylan Darling is a spokesman for Oregon's Department of Environmental Quality. 10"I grew up in Oregon and lived here a long time, and to see this much smoke for this long and wide spreading, really stands out in the state's history," he said. 11Some areas of central California covered with smoke are not likely to see conditions improve until October, said meteorologist Dan Borsum. He is studying weather conditions and sharing his information with firefighters in Northern California. 12"It's going to take a...strong weather pattern to move all the smoke," he told reporters Sunday night. 13Borsum added that smoke from over 20 wildfires in the West and throughout California is gathering in the Central Valley. The area already has some of California's worst air quality, even before the wildfires. 14Darling said that during earlier wildfires in Oregon, such as the fires of 2017, people could travel to other parts of the state for fresh air. Not this time. 15"There just isn't a place in Oregon right now to find fresh air," Darling said. 16Tyler Kranz is a meteorologist at the U.S. National Weather Service office in Portland. He said Oregon will need strong winds blowing from the ocean towards land to clear the air. But he said there needs to be a "perfect balance" of wind so that it blows away the smoke but does not start more fires. 17"We need the winds to get the smoke out of here," Kranz said. "We just don't want them to be too strong, because then they could fan those flames and all of a sudden those fires are spreading again." 18I'm Susan Shand. 19The Associated Press reported this story. Susan Shand adapted it for Learning English. George Grow was the editor. 20________________________________________________________________ 21Words in This Story 22smog - n. thick, dirty air and fog 23meteorologist - n. a weather expert 24cooped up - v. trapped inside with no relief 25pattern - n. a repetitive system 26fan - v. to increase air flow