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Comment By John Darling For the Tidings DailyTidings.com By John Darling For the Tidings Posted Aug. 5, 2015 at 1:07 PM Updated Aug 5, 2015 at 2:10 PM By John Darling For the Tidings Posted Aug. 5, 2015 at 1:07 PM Updated Aug 5, 2015 at 2:10 PM » RELATED CONTENT • Has smoke affected your end-of-summer plans? • What did you make of the Republican debate? • Ashland monitor reads 'unhealthy' • Smoke cancels Ashland City Band concert, closes pool • Air monitoring station will be set up in Ashland » Social News To us humans, mostly dwelling in valley bottoms, wildfire season means one thing: smoke. In many ways, smoke surpasses blizzards, wind and rain in its inconvenience to us and also its effect on our mood and freedom of movement. After all, you can ski in snow and go singing in the rain, right? But smoke? It forces us to engage the indoor sports: eating, sipping suds, watching TV, playing board games, talking. And it does all this in the middle of summer, the time when we think we’re going to be out hiking, biking, swimming, camping! But no! That all goes on the shelf for as long as this dreary miasma chooses to sit in our bowl-shaped valley. And sit. And sit. Then there’s the big picture: drought, heat wave, global warming, dread of more thunderstorms and lightning and the whole controversy about fire suppression, which produces a buildup of “fuel” in forests, posing a threat of even more intense fires down the road. It’s hard enough to sit and suffer in smoke without dwelling on those depressing issues. This particular smoke siege mostly came from the 17,000 acre Stouts fire east of Canyonville, though we’re also getting smoke from many California blazes, and even from Siberia. Air Quality Index readings taken by the state Department of Environmental Quality showed air in Shady Cove, the closest town in Jackson County to the Stouts fire, on Wednesday at 198 — near the top of the "unhealthy" ranking on the six-step scale, just three points below 201, where "very unhealthy" kicks in." The highest ranking, "hazardous," starts at 301. Medford, the closest permanent station to Ashland, registered a 154 for the 24-hour period ending at noon Wednesday. A temporary monitoring station is due to be installed in Ashland Thursday, Aug. 6. The "unhealthy" rating means, according to the federal Environmental Protection Agency, that "Everyone can be affected. Sensitive groups: Avoid prolonged or heavy exertion. Consider moving activities indoors or rescheduling. Everyone else: Reduce prolonged or heavy exertion. Take more breaks during all outdoor activities." For more, go to www.airnow.gov . We asked Ashlanders how their lives are affected by the smoke and if they think about the environmental and man-made causes. Jessica Litjens — I don’t really mind it. I pretend I’m camping and sitting by the campfire. I use my mind to not get freaked out. I definitely am not biking and hiking. I work out at the gym, inside. I try not to get cataclysmic about it when it passes through my head about being the end of time and things like that. Jonathan Ash — It makes me remember back when I smoked, which was much worse than this. I work outside, painting, and I just do it and don’t notice the effect on me. I don’t speculate about the big environmental issues or things I can’t do much about. Emile Amarotico — I still do my walk of several miles in the morning. I walked the mile to work. I’m aware of the smoke but it hasn’t changed my approach to anything yet. I think about the tiny particulate I’m breathing in. It can’t be as bad as the smoking I did when I was young. I think, this too shall pass. It’s hard to imagine what would happen with forests if we weren’t here managing them. We’ve been doing it so long, I think forests are dependent on it. Lori Eggink — It’s actually affecting me more than I thought. I’m generally a pretty robust, outdoor person but this is affecting my mood, making me kind of irritated. It’s clouding up my inner vision. I feel it more intensely than I thought I would. I have to be more conscious about the irritation. I feel extra tired. No, I don’t dwell on the big causes of it, environmentally. John Darling is an Ashland freelance writer. Reach him at [email protected]. By John Darling For the Tidings DailyTidings.com By John Darling For the Tidings Posted Aug. 5, 2015 at 1:07 PM Updated Aug 5, 2015 at 2:10 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. 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