LONE TREE, Colo. — Wildfire smoke from fires burning in Utah is likely to drift into Colorado, according to the Blue Sky Canada smoke forecast.
At Bluff Hills Regional Park in Lone Tree, visitors were enjoying the fresh air on Monday.
Denver7's Ethan Carlson reports on the impacts of wildfire smoke from out-of-state fires on Colorado in the video below.
“It offers me a variety of trails, I can get a little bit of hills in, it’s open, it’s safe,” Pamela Jones said.
Marcus Givens, visiting from Dallas for a family reunion, noticed the difference in air quality right away.
“I do recognize the quality of air when I come to a new area, so it’s something that… when I got here, it’s fresh. It’s fresher here,” Givens said.
Givens knows firsthand how wildfire smoke can affect air quality back home.
“It really does affect our air quality there and, for me, I do have asthma,” he said. “So, it does affect me from time to time when it does kind of sweep through.”
Dr. Christopher Post, medical director at AdventHealth Parker, told Denver7 that unless air quality gets significantly bad, most people don’t need to worry. For some, however, the smoke can cause real problems.
“Every summer we end up with wildfire somewhere in the western U.S., and it blows smoke and particulate stuff in our air into the area,” Post said. “The people we care most about, and the people that are most affected by it, are those that have underlying lung problems, like asthma or COPD.”
Post says seasonal allergies can compound the problem, and he recommends over-the-counter allergy medications for those not feeling well.
“Certainly, if you’ve got two things that are bothering your lungs, and you can treat one of them, you should do that,” Post said.
He also urges everyone to monitor the Air Quality Index, particularly if it reaches the unhealthy range for all individuals, and to listen to their bodies.
“If you go outside and you’re feeling that kind of burdening or difficulty breathing, your nose and the air is bothering you, [it’s] probably time to go inside and not exercise,” Post said.
Givens echoed that advice.
“If it’s noticeable, if I can walk out the door and I smell the wildfire... I’m like, maybe it’s not a good day to go outside,” Givens said.
