Masks Are Coveted Items With Covid and Smoke Sweeping West Coast
- Seven months into pandemic, federal efforts are falling short
- Residents scour stores, beg for help with weeks of fires ahead
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Lindsey Major, wracked with asthma, crisscrossed Seattle in search of an N95 mask as wildfire smoke blanketed the West Coast.
The 25-year-old from Mercer Island scoured stores. Pharmacies, big-box outlets, grocers -- none had anything to offer. At work, a door was inadvertently left open overnight, saturating the environment with dirty air. Her employer, a local television news operation, had only one mask to spare, and it didn’t fit.