Caldor Fire threatens Lake Tahoe area with hazardous air quality levels
CBSN
The ten most polluted cities in the United States are currently all in California and Nevada as smoke from the massive Caldor Fire lingers over the region, according to airborne pollutant monitoring company IQ Air.
On Tuesday evening, Tahoe Vista, located along the north shore of Lake Tahoe, had an air quality index score of 415, which is within the highest level of concern and considered "hazardous." The concentration of the main pollutant, PM2.5, in the air is currently 37 times above what is recommended to breathe in by the World Health Organization, according to IQ Air. Earlier Sunday, Tahoe Vista exceeded the air quality index's total range of 0 to 500 when the area reached a score of 596. Anything above a score of 200 is deemed unhealthy for all groups of people regardless of their health status, senior director of climate and health at the Environmental Defense Fund Dr. Elena Craft said.Two climbers were waiting to be rescued near the peak of Denali, a colossal mountain that towers over miles of vast tundra in southern Alaska, officials said Wednesday. Originally part of a three-person team that became stranded near the top of the mountain, the climbers put out a distress call more than 30 hours earlier suggesting they were hypothermic and unable to descend on their own, according to the National Park Service.
There's no making up for what Olympic hurdler Lashinda Demus lost on the day she finished .07 seconds behind a Russian opponent who, everyone later learned, was doping. What the American 400-meter hurdles champion will finally receive is a great day under the Eiffel Tower where she'll be presented with the gold medal she was denied 12 years ago at the London Olympics.