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John Cougar Misanthrope's avatar

"Regarding the wildfires, Ethical Skeptic has a series of tweets up discussing how the smoke smells like burning tires or plastic and doesn't smell anything like typical brush/forest fires."

This may explain the white flakes my son and I observed in the air when we were in the Detroit area a few weeks ago.

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Maggie Think of Me's avatar

FYI... Forest fires can and do produce ash, white flakes to be exact... When we got slammed by 2 hurricanes in 2004 there were so many trees down the county hauled them out to a large private tract of land 6 miles from city center and set them ablaze....HUGE PILES OF TREES. Problem was, the area was not "out in the country" but rather countryside surrounded by communities. White ash and heavy smoke blanketed our area. It was a nightmare! Hot, humid weather...and SMOKE so thick in some places you couldn't see through it. It was a great teaching moment for our inept democrat run city and county commissioners.... ((Diversity) elected)🫢😒... And yet, we're still electing the same kinds of fools...progressive commies. Life in a University town.

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Raptor's avatar

When I was little I was swimming at the beach and ashes came floating down on me (they were burning a field after harvest). I didn't know what it was. My sister said "it is from the crematorium. They are burning bodies" I nearly drowned. I screamed like there was a shark attacking me. I was an irrational child.

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Credenda's avatar

Funny. Bet she was a big sister.

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Raptor's avatar

Yes. 6 years older. She's still full of it.

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Willing Spirit's avatar

Sounds pretty rational to me. Now you got me reconsidering cremation.

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Jeff C's avatar

Yup, white flakes are very common here in Southern California during brush fires, it's not unusual to see them a hundred miles or more distant from big fires. People know to was them off the car quickly as they can eat at the paint.

Having lived through literally dozens of brush fires though, they never smell synthetic but always like burning wood in a campfire. There is something funny going on if it smells like burning tires.

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AngelaK's avatar

All the young women from Canada on a FB group I am on, said it smells like chemicals and they and others in the US are upset because they have babies and children and no one is issuing warnings or advising on ways to protect themselves from the toxic air.

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Raptor's avatar

There is no shortage of stupid before, during or after a hurricane. Bet you can attest to that.

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Maggie Think of Me's avatar

Yup! Never ceases to amaze me!

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ConcernedGrammy's avatar

Hubs was the regional director for state emergency management in Houston during Katrina, Rita and Ike. OMG!! It's not just the citizens, but the politicians! Mayor Bill White was responsible for that tragic evacuation when Katrina was on It's way. He got on TV and said EVERYONE LEAVE NOW!!! Orderly evacs were working well. He also invited all the refugees from New Orleans to come to Houston, then tried to "order" my husband to completely shut down I-20

and turnback the buses at the state line. What a dumba$$!!

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Credenda's avatar

Air quality here in Maryland was terrible yesterday. I was floating down a local creek and noticed ash flakes settling down on the water. I think there’s WAY more to those wildfires than we’re being told.

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Gigi Gummerson's avatar

Has anyone seen pictures/video of said fires? You’d think that they’d be all over the place, I haven’t seen one...maybe I’m not looking hard enough BUT when CA has fires I see them all over my feeds. Just saying...

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Fre'd Bennett, MAHA's avatar

Great comment - yes, WHERE ARE all the videos of these "wildfires?"

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none none's avatar

I noticed that too. Should be everywhere

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Jan Dickmeyer's avatar

No.. no videos.

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AngelaK's avatar

1. I heard there are fires on land bought by China?

2. Young women living in Canada on a FB group I belong to said that there has been torrential rain for 3 days (as of yesterday) so they were perplexed.

3. Soneone else mentioned train derailments

4. They all saud that the smell is chemical.

Again: all hearsay

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