Category Archives: Safety

Health and Lifestyle, Local, Safety, Terra Firma, Weather

Wildfire smoke might make an unwanted visit by the end of the weekend

Smoke season has become a new summertime feature in Puget Sound during the last decade, and after a cold, wet spring suppressed fire season, our area’s luck might be running out.

Wind could carry smoke from a wildfire burning near vantage over the Cascades late this weekend and into the start of next week during a period where high temperatures will tickle 90 degrees. This won’t be a repeat of 2020 or 2021 when thick blankets of smoke choked the area, but there is the potential to impact vulnerable populations and put the taste and smell of smoke into the air.

If you haven’t restocked your smoke season supplies and revisited your plan, now is the time to get prepared.

  • Get some N-95 masks, especially if you work or exercise outdoors. N-95 masks work when tightly fitted to the face. Surgical masks don’t block fine particulates, so they aren’t effective in the smoky air. The particles in smoke are accumulative in your lungs. Repeated exposure over the years can have health implications decades later.
  • Smoky days in Puget Sound typically go hand-in-hand with our hottest days due to the onshore flow carrying smoke into our region. In 2018 and 2020, we avoided 100+ degree heatwaves because the dense blanket of smoke kept daytime highs down by 3 to 6 degrees. Ideally, on the worst days, you should keep your windows closed. Now is the time to consider a portable air conditioner if you haven’t been convinced yet for at least one room to create a clean air space in your home.
  • If your choices are sitting in dangerous heat in an enclosed space or opening a window to regulate temperatures while allowing smoke to circulate, you should open your windows. If you have vulnerable family members or care for the elderly, consider finding relief in air-conditioned places.
  • Along with a room with AC, having a box fan with a furnace filter taped to the “intake” side (the side that pulls the air) has been shown to reduce particulate matter in the air dramatically. If you can’t afford an AC, a $35 box fan and a $15 filter can significantly improve air quality in a single room.
File photo – a homemade smoke filter using a box fan, duct tape, and a 20X25 standard furnace filter
  • Smoke typically is at its worst after sunset and during the overnight hours. As the air cools overnight, it sinks, which tends to pull the blanket of smoke to lower altitudes. After sunrise and the air starts to heat up, the rising warm air lifts the smokes up to higher elevations.
  • When you drive your car run your AC in the “max” or “recirculation” mode. This recycles the air within your cabin. If your car doesn’t have a working AC, consider wearing an N-95 mask when driving.
  • On the worst smoky days, don’t do outdoor activity if you can. If you work outdoors, your employer should provide N-95 masks. This is vital on days where there is ash fall.
  • Exercise should be done indoors in a climate-controlled setting. If you have medical issues, talk to your primary care physician about what is best for you.
  • Contact lens wearers should make sure their glasses prescription is up to snuff. Smoke can irritate the eyes, which can be made worse by contacts.
  • Ash is very alkaline and damaging to car paint. Additionally, ash can create spiderweb scratches in auto finishes. On days with bad ashfall, consider gently rinsing your car off with a hose or using a leaf blower. Don’t brush ash off your car or use an automated car wash before removing the particles.
Health and Lifestyle, National, Safety

53 nutritional and beverage products recall impacts several popular brands

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – The United States Food and Drug Administration announced that Lyons Magnus has voluntarily recalled 53 nutritional and beverage products, including popular brands such as Premier Protein, Stumptown, and Oatly, due to microbial contamination.

The products are potentially contaminated with the organism Cronobacter sakazakii. Common symptoms from infection include fever, vomiting, and urinary tract infection. Infections are rare, and so far, there have been no reported cases.

The recall was announced on July 29 and mostly impacted institutional packages of products sold to restaurants, gyms, and long-term care facilities. The impacted brands include Lyons Ready Care, Lyons Barista Style, Pirq, Glucerna, Aloha, Intelligentsia, Kate Farms, Oatly, Premier Protein, MRE, Stumptown, and Imperial. A complete list of the recalled products is available on the FDA’s website.

Impacted Glucerna products were sold at Costco, BJ’s Wholesale, and Sam’s Club under the Glucerna brand name.

Anyone who has a recalled product in his or her possession should dispose of it immediately or return it to the place of purchase for a refund. Consumers in all time zones with questions may contact the Lyons Recall Support Center 24/7 at 1-800-627-0557

Health and Lifestyle, Local, Safety, Weather

How you can keep it cool during this weekend’s heatwave

[KIRKLAND] – (MTN) Meteorologists don’t toss around words such as historic and unprecedented lightly, but those adjectives perfectly describe the heatwave that starts on Friday. Temperatures of 95 to 105 degrees are dangerous for humans and pets and not typical for the Puget Sound lowlands. 

We have reached out to Kirkland, Bellevue, and King County Health to find out their plans with the community. Kirkland and King County are finalizing their programs, and at publication time, Bellevue has not responded to our request. 

Here are some tips from King County Health and other area experts on dealing with the extreme weather this weekend. If you don’t have access to air conditioning, we can’t promise these tips will keep you from being miserable, but they will help keep you safe.

Stay cool

  • The best way to keep cool is to find air conditioning. If you don’t have access to air conditioning, consider visiting a mall or other cooled public spaces. The indoor mask mandate for COVID ends on June 29, so you will still need to mask up indoors. Locally, Crossroads Mall is a popular place to go to beat the heat.
  • Consider having a staycation at an area hotel with air conditioning. Occupancy rates are low but expect hotels to be booked solid the closer we get to the weekend.  
  • Cover your windows and follow the indoor and outdoor temperatures. In the evening, open your windows as soon as the outside temperature is cooler than the inside temperature. In the morning, close your windows and all your blinds and curtains. You can wrap cardboard with aluminum foil to reflect solar energy from windows that face the west or south. When the inside becomes hotter than the outside, open the windows again.
  • Wear light-colored clothing and dress lightly. Your body can cool itself better.
  • Take a cool-cold shower or bath. If you live in a multistory building with no air conditioning, covering yourself in cold, wet towels can provide some comfort.
  • If you live in a multistory building, move to the lowest level. If you can move to a basement area, you’ll find even more relief.
  • Most in-room portable air conditioners are ineffective. Air conditioners that face outside and can be placed in a window work best. Be sure to secure a portable air conditioner following the manufacturer’s directions.

Stay hydrated

  • Drink plenty of water. If you feel thirsty, you are already dehydrated. Watch your urine to check your hydration – it should be straw-colored to clear looking. If it is dark yellow to brown, you could be dangerously dehydrated.
  • Don’t drink alcohol or large amounts of caffeine. Alcohol and caffeinated drinks such as soft drinks, energy drinks, coffee, and tea, dehydrate you.
  • Carry bottled water or a water bottle with you at all times and take frequent small sips. Don’t wait until you feel thirsty to drink.

When outside

  • Limit your time in direct sunlight. Avoid being outside from 11 AM to 6 PM if at all possible. Our heatwave is coming during the longest days of the year in the Puget Sound region. The extended daylight elongates our hottest hours, and peak temperatures typically come between 5 PM and 6 PM this time of the year.
  • Never leave infants, children, or anyone with mobility challenges in a parked car, even with the windows down.
  • Wear sunscreen and reapply frequently. There isn’t much difference in protection above SPF-30. If you get sunburned, you diminish your body’s natural ability to cool down. Don’t swim for 30 minutes after applying sunscreen and reapply when you come out of the water. Consider wearing a swim shirt with UV protection if you’re going to kayak, canoe, or paddleboard. Washington state has one of the highest skin cancer rates in the United States.
  • Wear footwear everywhere. We rarely get so hot in Puget Sound, where sand, concrete, and pavement can burn. Don’t walk on hard surfaces or the beach without footwear. If you are wearing sandals or open shoes, be sure to apply sunscreen to your feet. 

For pets

  • Never leave your pets in a locked car, even if the windows are down.
  • If you have access to air conditioning, it is best to bring your pets inside – if you’re hot, they are hot.
  • If you have outdoor only pets or livestock, ensure they have access to shade and cool surfaces to stand and lie on, such as grass. Enclosed dog houses and chicken coops can get much hotter than outside areas and won’t provide adequate shade.
  • Don’t walk your dog or other pet on hard surfaces like pavement and concrete, even for short distances. Their paws can get burned. If it’s too hot for you to stand still barefoot, it is too hot for them.
  • Provide plenty of water for your pets and livestock. Consider getting a kiddie pool for animals to drink from or lay in to cool off.
  • Do not assume that your electric car or car with a remote starting system will stay running even for a short time. It is best to leave your pet home.
  • It is illegal in Washington for someone who is not a commissioned law enforcement officer or animal control officer to break a car window to rescue a pet in distress. Call 911 first and seek permission for immediate intervention. If you are still compelled to break a window, only do so with third-party witnesses who agree that the animal is in immediate danger.
  • Know the signs of heat exhaustion and heat stroke in your pets
    • Excessive panting
    • Confusion and disorientation
    • Vomiting or diarrhea
    • Bright red gums
    • Body temperature over 104° F.
    • Collapse, seizure, or coma
At 95 degrees, the inside of a car can become dangerous for pets and humans alike in under 10 minutes

Pre-Existing health issues

  • Certain medications can impact your natural ability to deal with hot weather or increase your chances of getting sunburned. If you have questions, contact your medical provider.
  • Do not take salt tablets unless directed by a medical professional.
  • Some medications, such as certain antibiotics, can lose their effectiveness due to sun exposure. Check with your healthcare provider if you have questions.

Water safety

  • All of our bodies of water are still very cold, and hypothermia is possible even on a 100-degree day. Wear a lifejacket (personal floatation device) if you plan to canoe, kayak, paddleboard, waterski, or go boating.
  • Swim in designated areas, preferably with a lifeguard. Do not swim alone, and do not swim outside of your abilities.
  • Never allow children to swim unsupervised.
  • Don’t leave backyard pools, even above ground or shallow portable pools, unsecured. If you own a private pool, check to make sure your gate is up to code and the safety latches operate correctly.
  • If you plan to tube, raft, kayak, or canoe in our area rivers, stay within your ability. High temperatures increase snowpack and ice melt, raising river levels, increasing flow, and lowering temperatures.
    • Never do water recreation near low head dams. If you go over, the currents at the base of the dam are almost impossible to escape.
    • If you find yourself in white water, try to head downstream feet first and face up to prevent head injuries, and see where you are going. Don’t panic, and try to steer yourself to where you can get out of the water, even if that means becoming stranded mid-river and waiting for rescue.
    • Avoid down trees in the water, also known as strainers and plan your route around them. It is extremely difficult to escape from the branches due to the water pressure pushing against your body. 
    • Never dive in areas where you don’t know the depth or unaware of any possible underwater obstacles.

Protecting others

  • If you have friends or family who are elderly or have mobility challenges, do periodic welfare checks, especially if they don’t have access to air conditioning.
  • The extreme heat will dramatically increase fire danger, even in the urban areas of the lowlands. Refrain from using fireworks, which are currently illegal in all areas of King County. If you use a backyard fire pit, make sure the fire is completely extinguished, and there are no hot embers when you are done using it.
  • The houseless community has fewer options for getting out of the heat. Donations of bottled water and non-caffeinated sports drinks will help keep the unhomed community safe.

Recognizing heat-related injuries – heat exhaustion and heat stroke

  • Heat exhaustion is caused when a person’s body can’t cool down quickly enough. Know the symptoms:
    • Muscle cramps, especially in the arms, legs, and abdomen
    • Weakness
    • Dizziness
    • Extreme thirst
    • Headache
    • Nausea
    • Vomiting
  • If you see someone exhibiting these symptoms, move them to a cool area, have them slowly sip water or a sports beverage. If they do not start feeling better after 30 minutes, seek medical attention for heat stroke.
  • Heat stroke is a serious medical emergency and can be fatal. Heat exhaustion usually precedes heat stroke. Know the symptoms:
    • Body temperature over 103° F.
    • Red, hot, dry skin – the inability to sweat
    • Rapid, strong pulse
    • Fast breathing
    • Severe nausea
    • Confusion, altered mental state
    • Loss of consciousness
    • Seizure
  • If you see someone exhibiting these symptoms, contact emergency services and move them to a cooler area immediately.  
Local, Safety

Washingtonians panic buy in stores as COVID restrictions loom

It was deja vu for Washingtonians who flocked to grocery and department stores to buy – everything – with looming COVID restrictions announced on Sunday. Even before Jay Inslee made his 11 AM announcement, lines stretched for more than a block outside Costcos throughout the state. Untrue rumors that grocery stores would be ordered to shut down drove dazed residents into a buying frenzy. Once again, toilet paper and paper towels appeared to be the critical supplies needed to survive a pandemic.

On Sunday, restrictions announced would require all retail stores to limit their capacity to 25%, including grocery stores. Even in the hardest-hit regions of the world, a government shutdown of grocery stores has not happened. Government officials and industry experts appealed to people not to panic-buy, stating the supply chain was strong. Shoppers found empty isles across the state, with some shouting and pushing matches over paper products reported at some stores.

Washington is earthquake country, and residents should have a 7 to 14 day supply of required goods on hand at all times. Emergency preparedness experts chimed in, stating that properly prepared homes would not have to buy any goods to prepare for potential disruptions if they have a good earthquake plan already in place.

Safety, Weather

Area lakes and rivers are still dangerously cold

This happens every year in Puget Sound and it is unnecessary. We get a warm spell in May or June and people head to the lakes and rivers to cool off. What better way than a swim, a float trip, a canoe, or a kayak?

Don’t be fooled, our area lakes and rivers can kill you this time of year.
Lakes are still cold, hypothermia can set in quickly leading to a loss of coordination and drowning. Unless you’ve ever experienced a kayak/canoe overturning suddenly, you have no idea how disorienting the experience really is. 

For our rivers, flow and levels are high with continued snow melt and there are a lot of limbs and branches over the waterways after our February snows (called strainers). High flow plus branches in the water are certified drowning machines. If you get up against a strainer, the water pressure keeps you there. The end. Rivers are even colder than lakes also.

If you’re going to head to the water to enjoy the warm please:

1) Don’t swim alone or at night
2) Don’t drink and swim
3) Don’t go over your head, you can cramp up suddenly
4) Canoe, kayak, etc. wear a life jacket
5) Don’t venture out on the rivers unless you have reviewed official reports and/or scouted the runs yourself – wear a lifejacket, don’t go alone, have a recovery plan
6) Smaller children are more susceptible to hypothermia, keep an eye on them and watch for shivering, blue lips, and chattering teeth

Please be safe.

Health and Lifestyle, Local, Safety, Terra Firma, Weather

Get prepared for summer smoke now

TL;DR

  1. Growing evidence that our climate is changing
  2. Puget Sound now has some of the worst air in the country
  3. Summer is coming and with it likely more wildfires
  4. You should prepare now
  5. Particulate matter is horrible for your lungs, and you don’t realize you damaged your lungs until it is too late
  6. N-95 masks help and don’t make you look like a dork, but don’t help everyone
  7. Consider creating a clean air space in your home
  8. This sucks

Climate is not the weather.

The weather is not climate.

Weather patterns are changing globally. When looked at as a whole, there is a growing body of evidence that these changes, which started hand-in-hand with the Industrial Revolution, are resulting in climate change.

The Arctic regions have seen one of the biggest shifts with extreme warm spells, shrinking glaciers, ice sheets, and seaside communities washing into the ocean. Permafrost frozen for more than 40,000 years is become less – permanent. In other regions, like the lower 48 of the United States, the changes are more subtle. Earlier springs, longer falls, increased rainfall when it rains, longer dry spells when there is drought. Here in Puget Sound, a growing addition to this change is smoke.

It is with a hardy and sarcastic, “congratulations,” Puget Sound now has some of the worst air in the United States. Those bluest skies I’ve ever seen as in the song have turned increasingly hazy, and over the past two summers, toxic. Most of this change is due to wildfires that have surrounded our region. Prevailing winds blow the smoke into the Puget Sound region where it gets trapped. The only thing that pushes it out is marine air off the coast, which then turns our skies gray with clouds and drops the temperature into the 60s and low 70s. Our spectacular Augusts replaced by days of 90 plus degrees with orange skies and the smell of burning forests or 65 degree days with drizzle and low gray clouds – but on those days we can breathe.

The reasons for the fires are more complex than weather events or a shift in climate. Poor forest management, increased human activity in forested areas, communities expanding into forests and grasslands, and an increase in “dry thunderstorms,” has conspired to generate more fires. The longer growing seasons, which are weather related, generate more fuel, while hotter summers dry out that fuel faster.

The ironic part is the smoke moves more people to motorized transit, which increases traffic, which creates more pollution, which makes it worse – but the pollution created by vehicles is not the particulate matter created by wildfires. The engineered congestion in Puget Sound creates lung congestion on our worst days.

Our declining air quality due to climate change and forest management isn’t just a Terra Firma Thursday issue; this is also a Weighty Matters issue. In other parts of the world, it isn’t just common, but it is socially acceptable to wear masks when sick or when pollution is severe. In the United States, this is met mostly with snickers.

The fine particulates that turn our skies orange in the summer are terrible for your lungs. The particulates accumulate, that is get trapped inside your lungs, and over time permanently damage your lung capacity. This decrease in capacity is insidious as it happens gradually and over the years. Of all the functions in our bodies, lungs go the longest before revealing to us there is a real issue – and then it is too late to reverse the damage.

As we start to approach summer, with another long-range forecast model of, “hotter and dryer than the norm,” now is the time to get prepared.

  • Get some N-95 masks. When the smoke starts, they’ll become more difficult to find. You can buy them online from many websites including Amazon, Home Depot, and Lowes. Remember, N-95 masks only work when tightly fitted to the face. Small children and those with facial hair can’t use them. Additionally, N-95 masks are not designed to be worn for days on end. Which means you need to limit your overall exposure when the smoke is bad.
  • Surgical masks don’t block fine particulates, they don’t work.
  • Our smoky days typically go hand-in-hand with our hottest days. In 2018 we had several days that would have been record-shattering, 100 degrees plus, but the smoke kept our temperatures down 3 to 6 degrees in the high 90s. Ideally, on the worst days, you should keep your windows closed. Now is the time to consider a portable air conditioner for at least one room, to create a clean air space in your home.
  • Along with a room with AC, having a box fan with a furnace filter taped to the “intake” side (the side that pulls the air) has been shown to dramatically reduce particulate matter in the air. If you can’t afford an AC, a $20 box fan and a $10 filter can significantly improve air quality in a single room. Ideally, if possible, you should do both.
A furnace filter duct taped to a box fan is a low cost way to clean the air in a single room.

  • When you drive your car run your AC and run it in the “max” or “recirculation” mode. This recycles the air within your cabin. If your car doesn’t have working AC, you’ll need to wear an N-95 mask when driving.
  • On the worst smoky days don’t do outdoor activity if you can. If you work outdoors, your employer should provide N-95 masks. This is vital on days where there is ash fall.
  • Exercise should be done indoors in a climate controlled setting. If you have medical issues, to begin with, avoid exercise or better yet, talk to your doctor.
  • Contact wearers should make sure now that their glasses prescription is up to snuff. On the worst days, you’ll want to rip your eyeballs out when you’re wearing contacts.
  • Ash is very alkaline and damaging to car paint. Additionally, ash can create spiderweb scratches in auto finishes. On days with bad ashfall consider rinsing your car off with a hose. Smoke is generally not as bad during the morning hours as we get some marine air trying to push in. If it is down to your lungs or your car paint, you should choose the lungs.
  • Welcome to the new normal.