How does wildfire smoke affect people with respiratory conditions?

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (Wyoming News Now) - Wildfires are popping up across the region, like the McKinney Fire in Oregon and California, the Moose Fire in Idaho, and now, the Carson Canyon Fire in Nebraska, just south of Gering.

On Sunday, the AQI - Air Quality Index - shot up to over 200 after smoke from the Carson Canyon Fire settled in for a few hours.

According to the National Weather Service, an AQI between 0 - 100 is generally pretty safe...

However, once that number goes above 150 - 200, people can start to experience health problems, especially with conditions like asthma, and COPD.

When the air quality is this bad, Dr. Adam Crilly from CRMC says to get inside and limit your exposure to the irritant smoke. And if you must go out, he says to break it up between being inside and outside periodically.

If you feel like you are struggling to breathe, and medications aren’t helping, Dr. Crilly says to get help from a doctor.

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