This article refers to a recent incident which already has several threads devoted to it on the forum.
The fumes referred to in this article are from the solvent he was using, not lye. Sodium hydroxide has a boiling point of 1388°C (2,530°F). I am not chemistry expert, but from my understanding this means that it would require a considerable amount of heat (and therefore effort) to fill a room with sodium hydroxide fumes. That is to say if it is even possible in the first place.
But yes, I think you are right in a way. The person in the article did not have a safe place to perform an extraction, and it would seem that he was completely oblivious to proper handling procedure for the hazardous chemicals he was using. Those are two damn good reasons to not perform an extraction, and therefore not use lye. :thumb_dow