Air Quality and Wildfires: Summer 2020
2020 appears to be the year that just keeps giving… Coronavirus. “At home” schooling. Cancellation of kids’ activities. Parents scrambling to figure out how to work from home and help kids with school. Crazy double hurricanes. And Wildfires.
We live in Denver, and for the past three weeks, our beautiful city and beautiful front range mountain views have been covered in a smoky haze. The sun wakes up bright red and goes to sleep a brilliant pink every day. It feels as if a heavy smothering blanket of smoke and heat has been placed on the city, surrounding us and suffocating us. The heavy feelings of loss of normalcy that started with COVID-19 at the beginning of the year become more oppressive as the smoke and haze settle in on the city.
People are evacuated from homes and communities. People have lost their homes and possessions. Firefighters are risking their lives to control the fires and save not only people’s homes but wildlife and natural wonders that exist in the mountains like Hanging Lake in Colorado.
For those of us not on the front lines with the firefighters and being evacuated from our homes, these fires still impact us - in more invisible ways. The air quality in Denver is currently Unhealthy. Particulate matter is the term used to describe the mixture of solid particles and liquid droplets found in the air. This includes dust, dirt, soot, and smoke. Particulate matter is divided into PM-10 (particles less than 10 micrometers in diameter) and PM-2.5 (particles less than 2.5 micrometers in diameters). It is the PM-2.5, the fine particles, that pose the greatest risk to health.
In fact, some people are more at risk for the adverse effects of smoke exposure. This includes:
People with heart or lung disease - this would include Ex-Preemies with Chronic Lung Disease whether they are on oxygen or not.
Older adults.
Children, including teenagers, because their respiratory systems are still developing.
People with diabetes.
Pregnant women.
Air Quality
The air quality in Denver, CO on August 25, 2020 was Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups per my husband’s apple watch.
So what can we do about it? How can we protect ourselves, our children, and our higher-risk family members?
Follow your local air quality. Check out AirNow and the EPA website. As I type this, the air quality in Denver has “improved” to Moderate, with our current quality rating 99.
Consider working out inside when air quality is poor. Breathing hard during exercise can increase the dose of particulate matter by 10-20X.
Higher risk children, such as Ex-preemies, infants with chronic lung disease, and children with asthma should not be vigorously active outdoors for prolonged periods of time. You may ask, what exactly is “prolonged periods of time” — and it is an excellent question. I don’t know. Neither does the EPA or the CDC. There just isn’t enough data out there on recurrent smoke exposure and how much / how long is too long?
Only properly fit N-95 masks can help with PM-2.5 particulate matter. Surgical and cloth masks do not filter out the smallest particles.
Consider upgrading to a high-efficiency HVAC or investing in an air cleaner to help reduce particle levels indoors. They can be particularly effective at keeping the inside of the house safer with better air quality. Here is a link to the EPA guide to air cleaners in the home. (Full disclosure, we have 2 good quality air filters in our home).
We know that short term exposure can result in symptoms such as eye irritation, coughing, stuffy nose, coughing, and shortness of breath. Typically short term exposure is fully recoverable. There are fewer data available on what the long term consequences are of recurrent long-term exposure. So please stay safe and keep your kids safe.
