SAN DIEGO — The smoky pictures out of the east coast are shocking, but nothing San Diego hasn’t seen before. Smoke from Canada’s fires has New Yorkers warned to stay indoors, and San Diegans remembering what the skies were like during the Cedar and Witch Creek Fires.
CBS 8 spoke with San Diegans now living in the Big Apple.
“It’s kind of crazy to think that this is a fire from Canada, which is like a long way away from New York City and it’s just kind of lingering,” said Chris Corbin, a former San Diego who lives in New York City with his family. He sent CBS 8 a picture of the hazy sky.
“My wife took that picture from our bedroom window, and usually we have the whole skyline of New York City. You can usually see the Freedom Tower all the way to the Empire State Building and you couldn’t see anything yesterday. It was just like that red fog, must, very eerie.”
Corbin told CBS 8 that the air quality conditions in New York reminded him of what he experienced when the Cedar Fire was burning in 2003 when he lived in 4S Ranch.
“It’s very similar, you know, the smells harken back to that time, and it feels like you’re breathing in the sand, right, so it’s really similar to the 2003 experience on my part,” said Corbin.
On Broadway, the conditions prompted two musicals to cancel their shows and the Yankees rescheduled their matchup with the Chicago White Sox.
“I was like, ‘Why is it dark at two in the afternoon?’ And it’s all the ashes and soot in the air, it’s just like thick, it’s awful,” said Anya Marina, a singer/songwriter and former radio DJ at 94.9 FM in San Diego. She now lives in Kingston, New York, which is 100 miles north of the Big Apple.
“I mean really, I’ve been a shut-in the last few days, but I have to walk the dog,” said Marina. “I was like, ‘Can I get a HAZMAT suit for my dog?’”
Marina and her fiancée have one air filter in their house, and it’s not helping much.
“It’s coming in even though we have all the windows sealed and closed. It’s like being at a campground when all the smoke is going in your face, and you keep trying to move. It’s like that all the time,” said Marina.
State officials have been urging people, especially vulnerable populations, to stay indoors and mask up when going outside. For Marina, the whole situation can be depressing.
“It’s a bummer and a drag and feels like you’re really powerless, you can’t do a lot,” said Marina. “You just sort of have to wait it out.” Anya Marina will be returning to San Diego’s Balboa Theatre on October 21, performing with comedian Nikki Glaser.
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