With fire comes smoke. Air quality in Spokane has deteriorated today from unhealthy for sensitive groups to unhealthy for everyone, according to the Spokane Regional Clean Air Agency. Still, agency spokesperson Lisa Woodard says sensitive groups will be the most affected.
“Sensitive groups should avoid prolonged or heavy exertion,” said Woodard. “They should move activities indoors, or reschedule for when air quality is better. For everyone else, they should reduce their prolonged or heavy exertion.”
Each hour, the clean air agency updates the Current Air Quality Index, which measures the fine particulate matter found in wildfire smoke. That level reached 175 this afternoon, right in the middle of the “unhealthy” range of 150-200. At 200, the air becomes “very unhealthy,” a category that Spokane County did reach last year.
The agency forecasts the air quality to improve some tomorrow. Woodard says these forecasts are based on the latest information available each morning.
“We’re looking at current air quality and trends, we’re looking at current and forecasted weather, and then we’re looking at tools that report current fire behavior and any new fires that started overnight,” said Woodard. “All of those tools are reviewed, and that’s what we use to come out with a two-day forecast.”
Doctor Bob Lutz, the Spokane Regional Health District’s health officer, says anyone who does spend extended time outdoors, should be smart about it.
“People need to use some common sense,” said Lutz. “If you can’t see the trees a couple hundred yards in front of you, you know the air quality is really poor. And you know you are taking all of that particulate matter in. These are really incredibly small particles that embed themselves in the small airwaves and are small enough to get into your blood vessels.”
Lutz says children are especially sensitive to these particles because they breathe faster, and their outdoor time should be limited.
Lutz also warns against gaining a false sense of security wearing masks. He says masks from hardware stores do not give you any protection. And the masks that do protect you need to be fitted to you, a process that cannot be done at home. Unfitted masks can actually make it harder for you to breathe.
“I don’t want people to think that by having a mask, I’m safe to go out in conditions like this,” Lutz said.
Updated information on the air quality, as well as safety information, can be found at SpokaneCleanAir.Org.