A smokin' hot summer!

I don't know if you've heard but several days of triple-digit heat are forecast for next week. Yikes! Hot and dry conditions spell trouble. The National Interagency Fire Center predicts that July will have above normal significant fire potential for almost the entire state. 

Be aware! Be prepared! Smoke might be coming sooner than we think. Look back over the posts from Smoke Ready Week if you still need to do some prepping. I know I'll be buying more filters and cranking up the A/C!

Keep checking back for updates, especially if next week's heat leads to fire and smoke.

Be Aware! Be Prepared! Be Smoke Ready!

You did it! All five days. If you read all this and use it to get prepared, you will be Smoke Ready!

Not surprisingly, smoke comes from wildfires. To be truly ready for the smoke season, you’ve also got to be ready for wildfires. Check out this website from the U.S. Forest Service to understand your community's risk. You can also learn about ways to reduce to your risk, like:

•      Clean up your property – remove flammable debris and dead fuel accumulation; thin/prune trees and shrubs within 30 feet of your home
•      Move firewood and other combustibles at least 30 feet away from structures. Find somewhere else to store your firewood besides your deck…it’s called FIREWOOD after all. You don’t want that touching your house if a wildfire sweeps by.
•      Create a written or verbal plan for evacuation and pack an evacuation bag in case you’ve got to leave quick
•      Sign up for emergency text alerts so you’ll know when it’s time. The Idaho State Alert and Warning System will notify you of emergencies like wildfires once you sign up.

Something else to consider is evacuating because of smoke. You can suffer from smoke even if you are not in the direct path of the wildfire. Smoke can travel long distances and stick around for long periods. If you are sensitive to smoke, think about preparing a place to go if smoke in your area is impacted.

Thanks for coming back all week!

Breathe clean air!

Wow! Four days in a row. I am impressed with your commitment to learning about smoke and protecting yourself! Come back tomorrow and you will be Smoke Ready! 

Let’s talk about filters. It’s probably time to clean them or replace them. I don’t know about you, but it’s one of those tasks that I often forget about it so set yourself a reminder on your phone to change it every other month. If you’ve got allergies or you’re more sensitive to smoke than the average person, you should consider installing a better filter (you’ll know this because it has a higher MERV rating; a 13 or higher will remove smoke). To be really prepared, go to the store right now and pick up a couple extra filters to get you through the season. This way, if a big smoke event pops up you won’t find yourself staring at an empty store shelf wishing you’d bought one earlier.

You can also make yourself a cleaner air room using an air cleaner. Close the windows and doors to a room and turn on the cleaner. Then breathe in your nice, clean air. If you’re the DIY type, you can even make your own. The Washington Department of Ecology has a great video to watch to learn how.

Watch for smoke

Hi there! You’re back again! Excellent. Now that you know how easy it is for smoke to get into your body and cause health problems, where can you find more information to protect yourself?

You’ve already taken the first step – you’re here! During the smoke season we try to post at least daily, giving you a forecast of what smoke and air quality to expect for the day. So check back often once you know the smoke has rolled in. 

You can also monitor air quality at the Department of Environmental Quality’s real-time monitoring website. It’s been recently updated so it looks great, even on your phone! You can keep up-to-date anywhere you’ve got cell service.

You can also take a look at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Fire and Smoke Map. Not only does this map show you monitors across the entire country, it has a layer that shows you where fires are and where the smoke may be coming from. Keep in mind that the “smoke plumes” shown on the map aren’t necessarily ground-level smoke. It could be smoke at a much higher level. 

You can also keep track of where the fires might be right here from this page by clicking on the tab at the top that says “Where’s the fire?”

Come back tomorrow to hear about air filters to keep the air around you clean!

Protect yourself from smoke!

Welcome back! Glad you made your way here again. Yesterday, you learned some cool facts about smoke; today we’ll talk about the harmful effects of that smoke.

Those teeny tiny particles are easily inhaled and when they are, they can harm your insides. After getting deep into your lungs, some can even get into your bloodstream. Numerous scientific studies have linked exposure to these particles to all sorts of problems:

o   Premature death in people with heart or lung disease

o   Nonfatal heart attacks

o   Irregular heartbeat

o   Aggravated asthma

o   Decreased lung function

o   Increased respiratory symptoms – irritation of the airways, coughing, difficulty breathing

You can protect yourself by limiting your exposure. Close your windows and doors. Stay inside if you’ve got air conditioning. Use an indoor air cleaner if you’ve got one. If you don’t, check back on Thursday to learn how you can make your own with a few simple items. 

Smoke Ready Week 2021

Hello out there! 

Summer has arrived! I’m sure you’ve all heard by now that we’re potentially looking at a higher than usual fire risk this year. It’s been pretty dry for the last couple months - the National Interagency Coordination Center Predictive Services predicts that almost our entire state will in the “Above Normal” category for significant wildland fire potential by July.

With that in mind, we’re going to kick off Smoke Ready Week by talking about smoke itself! 

Smoke is made of a mixture of gases and tiny particles. These tiny particles are called fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and are generally smaller than 2.5 microns in diameter. For contrast, a single grain of sand is around 90 microns and a human hair is typically 50-70 microns in diameter. That means these smoke particles are an astonishing 25 times smaller than your hair! Think about that next you smell smoke in the air.

Check back throughout the week to learn about the health effects of smoke, where to find more information about smoke and air quality, filters, and how to prepare for a smoky season. See you tomorrow!