'We're surrounded by fires'

Air quality is officially "unhealthy" in Kootenai County, and throughout North Idaho.

The Idaho Department of Environmental Quality issued an air quality advisory Monday morning to notify residents in the five northern counties of the degraded air quality caused by wildfire smoke.

The current air quality index for the Coeur d'Alene area is especially unhealthy for those with lung sensitivities such as asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

In a news release late Monday afternoon, the Coeur d'Alene Fire Department announced that no open outdoor burning is allowed at this time because of the unhealthy air quality. This applies to small recreational fires, even in approved fire pits, but propane fire pits are still allowed.

"The problem we’re having is we're surrounded by fires," said Shawn Sweetapple, regional air quality manager for the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality. "We were lucky through the summer. We made it to September. We thought we had it made, but Mother Nature had a different idea."

He said most of the smoke in Kootenai County is coming from fires in Grangeville and central Idaho as south and south-easterly winds blow to the north.

"We’re going to be stuck with the potential for smoke for a little while," Sweetapple said, adding that some of the wildfires raging in the region have the potential to produce smoke until it snows.

Northern Lakes Fire District Public Information Officer Chris Larson said the fire in Salmon–Challis National Forest is the largest wildfire in the lower 48 states.

"You have that area plus Grangeville, so you have all that smoke from that area," Larson said. "The Kootenai River Complex Fire to the north of us by Bonners Ferry has been pretty significant. They still have 0% containment."

Sweetapple said Kootenai County may see clear skies again midweek as a low pressure front arrives tonight.

"It looks like it's going to clear out coming west to east," he said. "Wednesday should be better."

Dr. Anthony Rehil-Crest, chief clinical officer for Heritage Health, said the poor air quality will especially affect those who are sensitive to smoke. He said Heritage Health in the past couple weeks has seen an uptick in patients with respiratory issues.

"People feeling short of breath, wheezing, starting to cough," Rehil-Crest said. "They're the ones coming in with a flare or exacerbation."

He said those who are sensitive to smoke should create action plans to ensure they have a clean-air space and their medications are up to date.

"A lot of people have inhalers they only use when they’re sick. Make sure they're not expired," Rehil-Crest said. "Have a room in your house you can close yourself off from the outside, have an air filter running if you can."

At 2 p.m. Monday, the air quality index was at 189 at the monitoring station on Nursery Road in Coeur d'Alene.

"When it gets about 100, it's unhealthy for sensitive groups," Rehil-Crest said said, continuing that when the air quality index reaches the 170s, it affects more people.

He recommended checking on those sensitive to smoke, helping them with errands so they can stay indoors and ensuring they have enough food so they don't have to create more smoke by cooking.

Now is also not the time to be using outdoor barbecues or grills.

"This level of smoke in the air is not good for anyone," Rehil-Crest said.

Info: www.deq.idaho.gov/air-quality/air-quality-index