Smoke blots out mountains and poses health risks
SEATTLE» Smoke from wildfires clogged the sky across the U.S. West, blotting out mountains and city skylines from Oregon to Colorado, delaying flights and forcing authorities to tell even healthy adults in the Seattle area to stay indoors.
As large cities dealt with unhealthy air for a second summer in a row, experts warned that it could become more common as the American West faces larger and more destructive wildfires because of heat and drought blamed on climate change. Officials also must prioritize resources during the longer firefighting season, so some blazes may be allowed to burn in unpopulated areas.
Seattle’s Space Needle was swathed in haze, and it was impossible to see nearby mountains. Portland, Oregon, residents who were up early saw a bloodred sun shrouded in smoke and huffed their way through another day of polluted air. Portland Public Schools suspended all outdoor sports practices.
Thick smoke in Denver blocked the view of some of Colorado’s famous mountains and prompted an air quality health advisory for the northeastern quarter of the state.
The smoky pollution, even in Colorado, came from wildfires in British Columbia and the Northwest’s Cascade Mountains, clouding a season that many spend outdoors.
Portland resident Zach Simon supervised a group of children in a summer biking camp who paused at a huge water fountain by the Willamette River, where gray, smoky haze obscured a view of Mount Hood.
Simon said he won’t let the kids ride as far or take part in as many running games like tag while the air quality is bad.
“Today, biking, you can see the whole city in haze and you can’t see the skyline,” Simon said Mon day.
In Colorado, Sid Vaughn, who works at the Boulder shoe store Boulder Running Co., did his usual 9mile run Monday despite the smoke.
“It didn’t feel that great to my lungs,” he said.
Forest fires are common, but typical Seattlearea weather pushes it out of the way quickly. The latest round of prolonged smoke happened as hot temperatures and high pressure collided, dpcommunity said Andrew Wineke, a spokesman for the state Ecology Department’s air quality program.
It’s a rare occurrence that also happened last year, raising concerns for many locals that it may become normal during wildfire season. Wineke said climate change is expected to contribute to many more fires.
“The trend is clear. You see the number of forest fires increasing, and so there’s going to be wildfires,” Wineke said. “There’s going to be smoke. It’s going to be somewhere.”
Health officials say signs of smokerelated health symptoms include coughing, scratchy throat, irritated sinuses, headaches, stinging eyes and runny nose. Those with heart disease may experience chest pain, irregular heartbeats, shortness of breath and fatigue.
Patients at Denver’s National Jewish Health, a respiratory hospital, were reporting worsening symptoms, hospital spokesman Adam Dormuth said. @dpcommunity