Preventing wildfires prevents smoke!

Do you know the best way to reduce smoke exposure? Prevent wildfires! Most wildfires (over half!) are human caused. Leaving campfires unattended, burning debris, equipment malfunction, and negligently discarded cigarettes are some of the ways humans start wildfires.  

When you head out into the wilderness this summer, make sure the chains on your trailer aren’t dragging and your campfire is dead out before you leave it! 

Minimize smoke exposure

Minimizing your exposure to smoke is the best way to protect your health. Read on for several ways to do that: 

• Close windows and doors 
• Replace HVAC filters when dirty 
• Switch your air conditioning unit to “recirculate air” so that it isn’t bringing in smoky air from outside
• Use an air cleaner – purchased or DIY  
• If you must be outside, a respirator or N95 respirator can help but they need a good seal to work properly. They don’t work with facial hair or on infants. 

Smoke and Your Health

We already told you that smoke contains tiny particles smaller than your red blood cells. Those smoke particles can easily pass into your bloodstream through your lungs and cause serious health problems – even in short exposures. Problems include: 

• Difficulty breathing 

• Increased risk of asthma attacks 

• Eye irritation 

• Increased risk of heart attacks 

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Some people are more sensitive to smoke exposure than others: 

• Children 

• Elderly 

• Pregnant people 

• People with pre-existing heart and lung conditions 

Stay informed about air quality

The first step in protecting yourself from smoke is to check air quality and check it often! There are so many options for checking air quality: 

• Here! You’ve already found the smoke blog. We post daily smoke forecasts and there is a map of monitoring data up top. 

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• AirNow Fire and Smoke Map. This map includes low-cost air sensors, temporary and regulatory monitors, projected smoke plumes, and smoke outlooks created by air resource advisors assigned to major wildfires. 

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• Idaho DEQ Real-Time Monitoring Map. This map is updated hourly and is maintained by Idaho DEQ. 

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• Air Idaho App. Plan to be on the move? Download our app to keep up-to-date on air quality even when you aren’t home.  

What do you know about smoke?

What do you know about smoke? If you’ve lived in the West for at least one summer, you probably know wildfires produce a lot of it! But did you know smoke can travel for hundreds of miles and affect people nowhere near a wildfire? Did you know that smoke is full of teeny tiny particles? We’re talking many, many times smaller than a single grain of sand, smaller even than dust or red blood cells. 

Wildfires aren’t the only source of smoke. All fires – campfires, fireplaces, woodstoves, industrial fires, BBQs, even candles – produce smoke which contains these tiny pollution particles.  

Are you Smoke Ready?

Next week is Smoke Ready Week across the Northwest! Check in each day as we talk about smoke, health, and how to protect yourself!