if anyone in the US needs some help finding free masks, air filters, places with good air filtration, or other clean air resources in response to the wildfire smoke, let me know--I keep a list of local mask blocs and city and county resources handy for this every year. (haven't updated it since last summer, but will be doing so over the next week.) coming from California, I know how rough it can be when the smoke rolls in.
if you run or know of a local mask bloc, or a program in your area that provides air filters or other clean air resources, let me know and I'll look into it and add the info to the doc. I would especially like to hear about resources for Canada this year! I have limited my scope to just the US in the past since I'm only one person working on this, but would like to expand further if I can.
General wildfire smoke/clean air safety info
This is all in the doc already, but sharing here so people don't have to click through.
Where to find air quality/wildfire smoke information
AirNow.gov is a great resource; you can plug in your zip code and get local air quality readings.
Fire.AirNow.gov has a map of wildfires and smoke, as well as air quality readings.
I have information about my area that I would like to share. How should I do that?
You can message me here on tumblr or fill out this form! You can submit information completely anonymously, or provide your preferred contact information if you want to provide additional details.
There’s no info for my city. What should I do?
In general, your local public library is pretty likely to have an HVAC system with air filtration. You can always reach out to them and ask!
Other indoor public spaces can have HVAC systems as well–museums, movie theaters, malls, gyms, community centers, etc. It is worth calling/emailing or looking them up online first.
Ask friends and family if they have extra N95 masks that they can share with you.
Use search engines and social media to find local mask blocs giving out free masks. They will also sometimes offer other clean air resources like air purifiers and air filters. Plug the phrase "[Your City/County/State] mask bloc" into a search engine and you should get some results. The same phrase should work on social media as well. Instagram is usually your best bet for finding mask blocs on social media, but you can sometimes find information here on tumblr as well as on TikTok, Reddit, Twitter/X, Bluesky, and Mastodon.
Check your local government's websites. Many city, county, and state websites often have a ton of information available regarding emergency responses to dangerous air quality, and often other resources that can help you improve the air quality in your own home. In my experience reaching out to librarians, city government workers, and local politicians as I've built out this doc over the years, most folks really do want to help.
Air Filters - how to build your own, what to look for when buying one
Instructions on how to build your own Corsi-Rosenthal air filter from Clean Air Club :https://cleanaircrew.org/box-fan-filters/
Information about how powerful any air filter you buy should be: https://ahamverifide.org/ahams-air-filtration-standards/
Where to find air quality information
AirNow.gov is a great resource; you can plug in your zip code and get local readings.
Fire.AirNow.gov has a map of wildfires and smoke, as well as air quality readings.
Why does air quality matter?
A Note on Wildfire Smoke From an Aerosol Scientist by Susan Kaye Quinn - "Smoke is basically a petrochemical aerosol soup of submicron particles. The only thing worse than smoke (from any kind of combustion, but especially wildfires because who knows what is burning) is actual chemical plant fires (or you know, derailed trains carrying polyvinyl chloride set on fire). Those will kill you dead right away."
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