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Comment by erosenbe0 | Hacker News Reader

Hopefully the visit will not coincide with an epic fire, in which case it will indeed feel like a hellscape.

While wildfires are certainly a growing issue in much of the Western Unites States the area around San Fransisco is a relatively low risk area.

I realize you are just being snarky but Australians are no strangers to hellscape wildfires. Australia suffered a 60+ million acre wildfire in 2020, way larger than all California wildfires in that year combined.

I live in the SF Bay Area as well. He's right. We had multiple days where the smoke was so thick that the sun was blood red.

Here's a couple of news clippings from different days in 2020

https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/one-year-ago-san-francis...

https://www.abc7news.com/amp/red-sunrise-bay-area-smoke-in-s...

Yep. The air quality issue does create anxiety for several relatives who live or visit Silicon Valley. There can be a few days a year that are intolerable for those with particular sensitivity and they must cancel their engagements and head out of town, or hole up in room with a quality purifier.

Can't really say that is a problem where I live, although recreational fires in fire pits are increasingly annoying as people increase outdoor gatherings in covid times.

Mostly just being sparky as far as hellscape but the air quality can be nasty in Palo Alto several days a year. Some people are indeed forced to take time off work and head out of town.

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