smoke

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New York, Get Ready for More Wildfire Smoke

Though it's not expected to get as bad as it did earlier this month

(Newser) - Canadian wildfire smoke is currently enveloping the Midwest, with Chicago, Detroit, and Milwaukee reporting some of the worst air in the US . But that doesn't mean it's done with New York: The smoke is expected to return to the state this week, authorities warned. Smoke from the Canadian...

Internet Praises This 'Genius' DIY Air Purifier

Box fan, some air filters, and duct tape are what people are using to fend off wildfire pollutants

(Newser) - Social media users are sharing a surprisingly effective way to protect yourself indoors from the toxic wildfire smoke blanketing much of the East Coast: a box fan, four air filters, and a whole lot of duct tape. As searches for "air purifiers" spike on Google, people are posting on...

DC Jitters: Inauguration Rehearsal Is Evacuated

Smoke from a nearby homeless encampment caused a scare

(Newser) - The US Capitol complex temporarily locked down Monday during a rehearsal for President-elect Biden's inauguration after a fire in a homeless encampment about a mile away sent a plume of smoke into the air and caused security concerns, per the AP . But law enforcement officials said there was no...

Oaky Wines Are Fine. Ashy, Not So Much

This year's crop could be a disaster

(Newser) - Smoke from the West Coast wildfires has tainted grapes in some of the nation's most celebrated wine regions with an ashy flavor that could spell disaster for the 2020 vintage, per the AP . Wineries in California, Oregon, and Washington have survived severe wildfires before, but the smoke from this...

Smoke Forces Yosemite's Closure
Smoke Forces
Yosemite's Closure
Sep 18, 2020 8:46 AM CDT

Smoke Forces Yosemite's Closure

Hazardous air expected for several days

(Newser) - Yosemite National Park has been closed indefinitely as smoke from wildfires turns the air into a polluted mess. An air quality monitor run by the federal government showed a pollution score of 681 in the park on Thursday, per the Los Angeles Times . Hazardous air is anything scoring above 300....

Coroner: All Victims of Dive Boat Fire Died of Smoke Inhalation

34 who perished on Conception in 2019 suffered carbon monoxide poisoning

(Newser) - Coroner's reports for the 34 victims who died in a scuba boat fire off the Southern California coast last year show they died of carbon monoxide poisoning before they were burned, authorities said Thursday. All 33 scuba divers and one crew member died in the Sept. 2 fire aboard...

An Aussie Open Cloaked in Smoke: 'I Couldn't Walk Anymore'

One player quit her match, 2 called medical timeouts, Sharapova's match called off amid fires

(Newser) - The Victorian government's advice as Australia's bushfires rage on is to "minimize the time spent in smoky conditions" and "avoid exercise"—both tough to do if you're competing outdoors in the Australian Open. But that's what players were forced to contend with Monday...

Breathing San Fran Air Like Smoking 11 Cigarettes: Researchers

Smog from wildfires has given San Francisco, Stockton, Sacramento worst pollution in the world

(Newser) - The smoke in some parts of California from the wildfires has been "overwhelming," and now the air in some cities there has earned a new descriptor: the world's worst. CNN reports on a sobering chart from the Berkeley Earth nonprofit , which pulls together stats from sites that...

Guy's 'Ridiculous' Idea: Blow Smoke Back to Canada

All Spokane needs are 2.75M box fans...

(Newser) - Stuck inside as wildfire smoke floated over Spokane, Wash., Caleb Moon turned on his fan, then imagined the city's 550,000 residents doing the same. And "Blow Spokane's Smoke Away to Canada" was born . "Every resident must place at least five box fans on their roof....

Mysterious Smoke Pours From Soon-to-Close Russian Consulate

Officials say fire was in fireplace, don't let firefighters inside

(Newser) - The San Francisco Fire Department says acrid, black smoke seen pouring from a chimney at the Russian consulate in San Francisco was apparently from a fire burning in a fireplace. The AP reports the smoke was seen billowing from the consulate building a day after the Trump administration ordered its...

Fight Over Smoke Threatens Sacred Texas BBQ

Austin decides not to regulate, but neighbors of one restaurant have sued

(Newser) - Austin is a barbecue town, and anyone who lives there "may very well live downwind of a barbecue joint," notes a post at Munchies . That may sound great, but for those who live too close, the smoke can be a real problem. After neighbors complained, a city council...

Man Arrested for Blowing Pot Smoke Into Baby's Mouth

Not the first time Oregon man did it: pal

(Newser) - "That was stupid of me" is what Christopher Robert Kling allegedly said to Beaverton, Ore., police as he allegedly wept during his arrest for allegedly committing what is not allegedly (but actually) an awful crime: blowing pot smoke into his own 1-year-old baby's mouth, KATU reports. The 22-year-old...

Two-Thirds of Americans Exposed to Wildfire Smoke

Health hazard spans farther than people think, warns report

(Newser) - The US is going to experience more and more wildfires in the coming years, and that's going to pose a much bigger health risk than you might assume, the Natural Resources Defense Council warned in a new report today. Nearly 212 million Americans—or about two-thirds of us—lived...

7 Kids Dead in Farmhouse Fire

Three-year-old the lone survivor

(Newser) - A fire roared through a rural Pennsylvania farmhouse last night, taking with it the lives of seven of the family's eight children, ages nine months to 11, reports the Patriot-News . As mother Janelle Clouse milked cows in the barn around 10pm and father Ted drove a milk truck, 3-year-old Leah...

Your Fireplace Could Give You Cancer
 Your Fireplace Could 
 Give You Cancer 
study says
Feb 7, 2011 1:14 PM CST

Your Fireplace Could Give You Cancer

Particles in smoke are as bad as car exhaust, say scientists

(Newser) - Ahh, fireplaces: cozy, romantic, and … as bad for you as car exhaust fumes? Apparently so: New research reveals that breathing in the smoke from open fires or wood-burning stoves can lead to cancer, and heart and lung disease. The airborne particles in the smoke are particularly harmful because they’...

Wildfire Smoke Chokes Moscow
 Wildfire Smoke Chokes Moscow 
Aug 6, 2010 2:04 PM CDT

Wildfire Smoke Chokes Moscow

Fires rage over 500,000 acres

(Newser) - Huge wildfires have blanketed Moscow in a fog of heavy smoke, stinging the eyes and throats of the city's 10 million residents. Firefighters are wrestling with almost 600 distinct fires covering 500,000 acres, CNN reports. The resulting smoke has seeped into subways and apartments throughout Moscow, driving carbon monoxide...

Wildfire Smoke Shrouds New England, Quebec

Blazes raging in Canadian forest send clouds hundreds of miles

(Newser) - Massive clouds of smoke from forest fires raging in Quebec have moved south and east across New England, screening the holiday-weekend sun throughout the region. "I just walked to the beach in Sandwich where you can usually see white cliffs in Plymouth, the Sagamore Bridge and sometimes the Provincetown...

Everglades Wildfire Claims 33,000 Acres

Blaze threatens endangered sparrow, homes

(Newser) - Nearly 33,000 acres of Florida's Everglades National Park were burning yesterday with only 20% of the blaze contained, CNN reports. A dense smoke warning was in effect in parts of southern Florida as flames threatened an endangered sparrow species and private property. The fire is the latest in a...

Smoking May Be Harmful to Your Wii

Nintendo cleans lenses damaged by cigarettes

(Newser) - Here's another reason to stop smoking: It damages your Wii. Some cigarette-wielding users in Japan last month noticed that the much anticipated "Super Smash Brothers Brawl" wasn't working properly, prompting Nintendo to provide free shipping and cleanup of tar-covered disc readers, the Boston Herald reports. Nintendo says the issue...

19 Stories