Poor air quality continues in Colorado as multiple wildfires rage

DENVER — It may look like a beautiful summer day in Colorado, but there is a haze hanging over the Denver metro area as smoke from several wildfires has filled the sky. This poor air quality should be a top concern, especially for those with underlying health conditions.

“People with asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in particular will find it harder to breathe,” said Dr. Anuj Mehta, a pulmonary and critical care physician at Denver Health. “Even people who don’t have those lung conditions or anything like that, it can cause a little more difficulty breathing, especially as they get closer to the fires and breathe in more dust particles.”

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As emergency response teams work hard to combat these wildfires, smoke coming from these areas may be a cause for concern.

“We’re seeing more wildfires every year,” Dr. Mehta said. “We don’t yet know the long-term impact of repeated exposures. We know that, in the moment, it definitely affects people’s lungs in terms of asthma and COPD. We see people ending up in the hospital sometimes with really bad air quality, but from a research perspective, we’re still trying to figure out what that repeated exposure looks like.”

Denver7 meteorologist Stacey Donaldson explained why this new smoke may look different than smoke from the Canadian wildfires.

“We have a big area of high pressure over Colorado, and that’s keeping the smoke close to the surface,” Donaldson said. “That’s why I think most of us are experiencing it the way we are — the atmosphere just isn’t moving as much.”

An air quality alert went into effect Thursday for the Front Range urban corridor due to ozone and wildfire smoke in the atmosphere.

“The air quality in the Front Range is unhealthy for some people, for our area, so we’re in that orange and red range, which is not great,” he said. “So, we just have to wait this out.”

Air support was seen from Robert A. Easton Regional Park with crews responding to the Quarry Fire burning west of Ken Caryl. Brandon Brewer and his 5-year-old nephew were able to see these crews in action as they both practiced football, took time during passes to drink water and rest.

“They have two helicopters landing on a lake down in the valley collecting some water,” Brewer said.