"We tried to get them last week and we couldn't and got out of town for the weekend and now we are back," Andrew Gray said, who spent the weekend breathing in fresh clean air.
"It was lovely we went up to Tahoe, we were monitoring the air quality as we went and watched it drop and it was great," he said.
LIST: Schools closed in Bay Area due to Camp Fire smoke
But now, Gray needs masks. He found them at the third store he visited, a Walnut Creek Ace Hardware. "They don't even have the heavy duty double strap masks-but these are considered better than nothing," Gray said.
Even those who found masks had trouble finding things to do. Alcatraz Island is closed to tourists, the visitor center at the Golden Gate Bridge is closed, and classes were canceled at many Bay Area campuses.
LIST: Events canceled in Bay Area due to Camp Fire smoke
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