I went to have my phone battery replaced. Lots of kids at the mall today. Apparently no (public) school for the past couple of days due to smoke levels (large area fires).

So, people are going to work, going about their lives but schools are out? Because of smoke? I get it if it's just pre-school or something. But high school? Middle school even?

And it seems like just public schools. After school hours, I saw kids in private school uniforms start to show up.

If the air is so bad that school has to be cancelled, seems like the kids ought to be staying at home? And apparently not bad enough to cancel private schools....

It was just a "make the parents feel good" gesture...plus an early start for the Thanksgiving holiday made it an easy choice. The first schools to close down were the colleges, than the Community colleges, then one by one the school districts.

It really doesn't make much difference unless you already have respiratory issues. The air is likely better at the mall than at home

On the upside, I drove from Lincoln to Oakland today with nearly no traffic. Only a small slowdown in Berkeley before the split. All the kids must be home holding their breath.

You may have 'smoke' days just like we have 'snow' days in Montana. But.... you'll have to make them up in the spring. Gotta get so many days in each year .

I understand legit. I assume on snow days, most people just stay home. And affects public and private schools alike.

Seems like here, smoke days (never heard of them before), (public) kids get out of school and just to the mall or parks. Smoke days, at least in this area, don't seem legit. The masses still go out and work.

I get it for people with respiratory issues. But otherwise, seems like much ado about nuthin.

On the other hand, I do see people wearing masks. I wonder if that's truly indicated or not. Should I be wearing one (even though I don't seem to be having any issues? Prophylactic for something?).

The story contains a video on proper use of N95 mask and some good info on air quality. LINK:

https://www.sacbee.com/news/st...rticle221778395.html

Good thing we don't have something called the Internet that could be used for online classes and such

An ass covering move that puts special air for special snowflakes in the hands of parents. Also maybe a relief valve for teachers given recess moved indoors last week.

My office offered work from home on Friday which I can't do. I gave masks to a few coworkers but nixed ordering them for the office. I even wore one outside to make the wife happy.

quote:

Originally posted by konata88:
On the other hand, I do see people wearing masks. I wonder if that's truly indicated or not. Should I be wearing one (even though I don't seem to be having any issues? Prophylactic for something?).

Can't be too careful....So you put on the rubber and wear it all day...? How would others tell if you had your pants zipped up and it was inside? Guess you wouldn't want smoked meat unless the girls enjoy it that way. Of course its Kali and not just the girls use it that way.

what kind of mask? For smoke you would need a fairly expensive one that filters certain gasses and vapors not just dust.

How is closing the school keeping the kids from breathing the smoke?