Code Purple

Yesterday, we drove through a big cloud of smoke on our way to the outer banks--at first, it was so large and diffuse, I thought it was just fog, but D could smell that it was wood burning. We also saw lots of "ozone alert" notices on the electronic freeway signs. (And two blocked tunnels, forcing us to take the long way around from Virginia into North Carolina, but that's another story.)

Today, D's got a headache from all the smoke, and I think I'm feeling it, too. Air quality around here is currently rated Code Purple, which apparently means "stay indoors if you know what's good for you." This area is the worst, but the smoke has spread out as far as New Jersey.

According to the news, this fire has been burning for two weeks now, and has destroyed over 40,000 acres of forest. And you thought California had the worst wildfires.

~CKL