"Where's All This Smoke Coming From?"

I keep getting asked by my friends, "Where is all this smoke coming from, anyway?" It feels like there's a billion wildfires going on all at once in the Pacific Northwest!

While there may not be a billion Washington state wildfires, quite a few of them have become so engulfed, it has created a semi-permanent haze over the skies of the Yakima Valley and beyond.

FOLLOW THE MAP TO SEE WHERE THE WASHINGTON WILDFIRES ARE

I recently discovered a map that shows you the locations of every wildfire and forest fire happening in the United States at one time. Just taking a zoomed out look at the country, you can clearly see the RED areas of the map are centrally located in our neck of the woods. What gives, man?!

Looking at this map, it appears as though the Yakima Valley is getting so much smoke wafting in from fires to the north, south, and west of our region. I'm even noticing that there are fires currently going off in Alaska and Hawaii! It's as if the USA is being punished by Mother Nature. She's not just mad, she's big mad!

If you want to see the map, click here. If you want to get some tips on how to deal with breathing in all this smoke, keep reading.

"YOU DON'T WANT THIS SMOKE!"

Here are a few suggestions for how to deal with all of this smoke.

• 1. First of all it is recommended that you get a face mask to deal with this intensely poor air quality. I'm talking about one that's tougher than the one you wear to the Walgreens when you need to grab something at the store. An N95 mask is the best suggestion I've heard lately.

• 2. Stay indoors as much as possible. Need I say more?

• 3. Keep hydrated. I like to drink Powerade to keep my electrolytes happy.

• 4. Most of all, in the words of my friend and co-host Brian, "Only YOU can prevent forest fires!" (Shout out to Smokey the Bear.)