Manuel Valle, 84, jumped on his bike and rode through his Boyle Heights neighborhood despite the protests from his worried children. The air was smoky, for the fifth day in a row; he pushed through fits of coughing to pass out 50 N95 masks to his neighbors.
The same day, officials told residents that the air was not dangerous, and that the smoke was clearing out. Valle didn’t agree.
“This is a state emergency,” he said. “Treat it like a state emergency.”…