Haze and smoke settled into the front range last week, and it鈥檚 about to get worse.
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment issued its second in two days this week. The alert comes on the heels of a forecast that shows PM 2.5, a category of particulate matter that includes the most harmful components of wildfire smoke, rising into the unhealthy for sensitive groups designation on the EPA鈥檚 Air Quality Index tomorrow.
Meteorologist Scott Landes warns that communities near the Alexander Mountain and Stone Canyon wildfires will likely experience much higher levels.
鈥淩esidents in the Loveland and Lyons area are going to have really heavy smoke at times, especially during the morning hours,鈥� Landes told KUNC. 鈥淚t鈥檚 especially urgent for those people to take it easy and stay indoors as much as possible.鈥�
Ozone is forecasted to reach the unhealthy category in Boulder and Denver today, which makes it the primary concern in those areas. The pollutant has plagued the front range all month. It鈥檚 a reality that Coloradans have gotten all too familiar with in the summertime. Just last week, as a 鈥渟erious鈥� nonattainment area for ozone under the Clean Air Act after testing sites repeatedly failed to meet federal standards.
鈥淥zone has really gone down in most parts of the country,鈥� NOAA atmospheric chemist Steven Brown told KUNC. 鈥淐olorado happens to be the exception to that.鈥�
Ozone arises from a complex set of circumstances that researchers are still trying to understand. Yet, some things are clear. Nitrogen oxides are an essential precursor. These gaseous chemicals are produced through combustion, whether from gasoline engine or a wildfire. Another precursor, volatile organic compounds or VOCs, more commonly come from industrial processes and oil and gas production.
Earlier this month, these precursors met in force in when smoke from Canadian fires drifted south into the Front Range. At the time, Brown鈥檚 research team saw the summer鈥檚 second spike in ozone levels.
鈥淲ildfire smoke can actually combine with those urban pollutants and make even more ozone,鈥� he explained.
Smoke from the Alexander Mountain and Stone Canyon Fires is on a collision course with the Denver Metro Area, hence the forecast.
Exposure to both PM 2.5 and ozone have been linked to a litany of health risks, and some are more vulnerable than others. Sensitive groups include people with lung or heart conditions, children and older adults.
Sheryl Magzamen, a professor of epidemiology at Colorado State University, studies the health effects of these pollutants on Americans. She urges Coloradans to pay close attention to air quality alerts, even when they can鈥檛 see smoke out their windows.
鈥淲e鈥檙e trying to think about these pollution events, whether its acute smoke from fires or high levels of ozone, as emergencies,鈥� she told KUNC. 鈥淲e need to be prepared.鈥�
According to Magzamen, preparedness means having a plan to get to a 鈥渟afe airspace.鈥� For some, this means cancelling outdoor plans and staying at home with the air conditioning on. Yet, many Coloradans live in older buildings that might not have good ventilation. Magzamen urges them to seek shelter elsewhere.
鈥淕o to a clean airspace, whether that鈥檚 something like a library, or if the schools are open or if you can go to a neighbor鈥檚 house,鈥� she said.
Most of all, Magzamen encourages people to monitor how they are feeling throughout the day, especially people who are recreating outdoors.
鈥淚f you鈥檙e an endurance athlete, maybe you start to feel bad when the [Air Quality Index] is 100, or maybe when it鈥檚 lower,鈥� she said. 鈥淜nowing and keeping track of that is helpful.鈥�
Air quality levels, forecasts and alerts across the state can be found at the .
This story is funded by the Neil Best Fellowship, a six-month program designed to engage talented students from local colleges and universities. For this fellowship, Gabe Allen is focused on expanding the station's presence on emerging platforms to reach broader and more diverse audiences.
