Air quality alerts issued as wildfire smoke drifts across Colorado
A smoky haze hanging over Colorado is becoming hard to ignore as wildfires burning across the state and neighboring areas continue to impact air quality.
From Denver to mountain communities, many Coloradans say they're noticing the effects.
"Everyone was like, 'Oh my gosh, I feel the air quality ... we feel the smoke,' and it's just a big topic of conversation," Allison Munk said as she walked around Sloan's Lake with Alexa Schuster.
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment issued an Air Quality Health Advisory for nearly 20 counties Monday, warning that smoke from large fires in southwestern Colorado and southeastern Utah could bring periods of moderate to heavy smoke through at least Tuesday morning. State health officials recommend limiting outdoor activity when smoky conditions are present, especially for children, older adults and people with heart or lung disease.
"It's been a little bit more difficult to breathe. It does kind of affect if I'm going to be going to the mountains or not," Schuster said.
Doctors say wildfire smoke can be particularly dangerous because it contains tiny particles that can penetrate deep into the lungs.
"When we see a rise in particulate matter, when we see a rise in ozone levels -- and we don't know how the two work together by the way -- we know that puts people who have underlying health conditions at risk of having flares or worsening of their lung and heart disease," said Dr. Lisa Maier, an occupational environmental pulmonologist at National Jewish Health.
People with asthma and other respiratory conditions are often among the first to feel the impacts.
"I do have asthma, so it's a little bit less time outside and more time inside working out," Munk said.
But Maier emphasized that wildfire smoke is not only a concern for vulnerable populations.
"Even for people who don't have those medical conditions can end up having trouble with their breathing and get some inflammation in their lungs and it can really cause detriment, potentially long term," she said.
She recommends people pay attention to how they feel, particularly during periods of poor air quality.
"If you start to feel some tightness in your chest or irritation or eyes sometimes can feel like they're getting really dry or irritated, so kind of general irritation and symptoms of your breathing not being normal," Maier said.
When smoke levels increase, health experts suggest spending more time indoors and avoiding strenuous exercise outside.
"Stay inside, use air conditioning or close the windows if you can, and maybe not go outside and go running," Maier said. "Morning in general for us is a better time to get out and do something, but you got to watch where in the state."
Officials encourage Coloradans to monitor local air quality forecasts before making outdoor plans.
