http://www.sacbee.com/2013/08/18/5659984/american-fire-spreads-to-nearly.html, my area and a large portion outside Placer County (even reaching into the next state over in Reno!) has been blanketed by smoke but since I am in http://tmappsevents.esri.com/website/wildfire-responsive/index.html?webmap=df8bcc10430f48878b01c96e907a1fc3&appid=06a85b051a364e20a1fd5d5a89ce3093&extent=-13516683.134384362%2C4674751.539704739%2C-13372981.521208176%2C4776107.039210922&layers=precip%2CWeather_Warnings_Watches_Advisories_Statements_7721%2CWorld_Imagery_6284%2CWorld_Boundaries_and_Places_3743%2CMODIS_Thermal_9833%2CWildfire_Activity_3790%2COpenShelters_8314&youtubeSearch=wildfire&youtubeRange=today&youtubeChecked=true&twitterSearch=wildfire%20OR%20fire&twitterChecked=false&flickrSearch=wildfire&flickrRange=this_week&flickrChecked=true&panoramioChecked=false&socialDisplay=point&locatePoint= I am getting a huge chunk of it when the fire is about a half hour to 45 minuet drive from me.

Even at work, some of the smoke was finding its way into the lodge. How, I don't know but it sure was making me feel a little disoriented and sick. Anyone else around the local area here dealing with it? Anyone dealt with anything similar before? How do you deal with it?

This is no stranger to me, however. When I was in high school back in 2007, California was literally http://www.newseum.org/todaysfrontpages/hr_archive.asp?fpVname=CA_SB&ref_pge=gal&b_pge=1 when there was thousands of fires at once. We got our share (Angora fire near Lake Tahoe) and I remember the football field being blanketed by smoke and countless Spare the Air days during P.E. It is amazing that smoke from nearly an hour away can travel that far.

During my last year at UF in 1998 we had a very hot and dry summer, with a bunch of wildfires. One of them was near a small town called Waldo about 12 miles northeast of Gainesville, and they actually evacuated the town at one point because they were afraid it was going to be burned to the ground by the fire. The wind finally shifted and blew the fire back onto the areas it had already burned, and the firefighters were able to bring it under control. It was a very close call, though.

The whole city of Gainesville was covered in a thick pall of smoke for about a week. Visibility was cut way down to maybe 200 yards some days. Staying indoors helped a bit but you could still smell it. No building is completely airtight, so you'll always get a small amount indoors.

Outdoors it was so thick that it was sometimes hard to breathe and it burned your nose and throat. There wasn't much we could do about it except stay inside as much as possible and wait for the fire to burn out and for the smoke to dissipate. If it bothers you that much and you can swing it with work and a place to stay, you can leave the area until the smoke clears out. Otherwise, you'll just have to deal with it.

http://www.scpr.org/news/2013/08/18/38767/400-structures-threatened-by-swedes-fire-burning-n/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+893KpccSouthernCaliforniaNews+(KPCC%3A+News) is burning about ten miles from my home. Its about 2,000 acres and hundreds of homes have been evacuated (including some of my family). The smoke has been hanging over the area all weekend and I'm bloody sick and tired of it. Yes, it makes me feel ill - headache, scratchy throat, burning eyes and nose, etc... This is in addition to smoke that has wafted over here from the American Fire the past week . All these fires in Northern California and Southern Oregon have been blowing smoke this way since May and I really am looking forward to summer ending. Hopefully we'll have a wet winter this year (and an early one).

it's "snowed" ash on a few occasions here. Never a fun experience. It's not been a common occurance for me, though, living very costal and deep in the city-sprawl.

Anyay, http://www.bepreparedcalifornia.ca.gov/Documents/Protect%20Your%20Lungs%20Respirator.pdf (PDF).

http://www.amazon.com/3M-Particulate-Respirator-8271-Pack/dp/B008MCV6Q0

http://www.amazon.com/3M-Face-piece-Reusable-Respirator-Assembly/dp/B000FTEDMM

The one thing they don't always stop is the smell. Smell is best countered by altoids I find.

massive wildfires create their own wind and pump the smoke high into the air