California wildfires hit home for NDB community

Clair Sapilewski, Managing Editor| October 1, 2021

Fires and their smoke make air in California a grey haze.

In California, a new season has been added to spring, summer, fall and winter: fire season.

Often lasting from July to late October, fire season brings devastation to many areas of the state. Even for those not directly affected by the flames, smoke becomes a big problem. Many will recall the days of orange sun and dark skies in 2020’s fire season caused by toxic smoke.

This year, fires have been situated scaringly close to California’s skiing paradise of Lake Tahoe. These fires and their smoke have made that paradise uninhabitable. NDB senior Brooke Horvai’s visit to Arnold, California was cut short due to the fires this summer.

“We were at a lake that was maybe 45 minutes away from our cabin, and you could see over the horizon a huge cloud of smoke,” Horvai explained. “And it looked almost like an explosion.”

Other NDB students are worried about cabins in Lake Tahoe, especially approaching the popular ski season.

“A few weeks ago, when the fire was really bad, we were concerned because it was moving fast,” said senior Maddy Scheinman in regards to her Tahoe cabin. “Hopefully the rain and snow will help with the fires.”

Back on NDB’s campus, athletics are at risk of being put on hold due to fires. If the air quality reaches a level deemed unhealthy for all individuals by the CDC, practices taking place outside and on occasion inside as well can be cancelled.

“If it ever gets to 150 or above it’s an automatic we are going to shut down sports for the day, probably even indoors,” Athletic Director Jason Levine said.

Air quality readings can often be inconsistent across websites such as Purple Air, Air Now, and the weather app, so Levine measures the air on his own.

“I have my own device that I purchased a couple years ago,” Levine explained. “So it’s called Temtop, and it’s an air quality reader and it reads it right here at Notre Dame.”

For those without access to a personal air quality reading, Levine said that air.gov is the next best thing.