Connecticut issues air quality alert due to particles from western wildfires. State asks residents to limit outdoor activities
The state issued an air quality alert Tuesday afternoon for the entire state of Connecticut except for Litchfield County.
Particles from a massive smoke plume arising from dozens of fires in the western U.S. are now trapped in the lower atmosphere and are slowly dispersing, the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection said.
DEEP said state residents should limit outdoor activities until 11 p.m. Tuesday.
People with heart or lung disease, older adults, children and teenagers should avoid strenuous outdoor activities, DEEP said.
When are things expected to clear up?
It’s going to take time, but Tuesday is expected to be a little better than Monday, said Gary Lessor, chief meteorologist at Western Connecticut State University.
“We’re going to stay with moderate air quality, slightly improved,” Lessor said. “Maybe a little improvement Wednesday morning, but there’s still wide expanse of smoke from the Hudson Bay to the Tennessee Valley. It’s definitely not going to clear out.”
The good news, is that the weather is expected to cool down a little and bring a “more northerly flow,” Lessor added.
“There’s going to be a couple of chances with tomorrow evening showers that could wash some of the smoke out,” Lessor said. “Same with Thursday afternoon, Thursday evening and another chance during Sunday. So there’s plenty of opportunity for Connecticut to keep the smoke in check. I would be concerted if we were getting into a heat wave, but we’re not. We’re seeing drier Canadian air for the most part, especially when we get to Friday.”
What are health professionals saying?
Dr. Richard Krinsky, a Pulmonologist at Hartford HealthCare, said that the particulate loads, from the smoke, are small enough to get in when residents breathe, or even are able to enter the body through the ears, mouth or eyes.
“It can get into the lower portions of your lungs, and they are very irritating [and] it certainly can be inflamed,” Krinsky said. “I’ve been feeling it much more and people without respiratory illnesses and normally don’t have issues are finding it a bit difficult. ... I’ve received tons and tons of phone calls from people with breathing issues, all related to this, ... it’s almost like a choking feeling.”
Besides staying indoors, Krinsky advised preforming outdoor activities in the early morning or at night and if you need to work outdoors, to pace yourself.
“People just need to think and decide if a trip [outside] is really necessary right now with the air quality we’re dealing with,” Krinsky said.
Where is this smoke coming from?
The increase in moderate to unhealthy air quality is from dozens of fires in the West, including California, Nevada and Oregon.
“The heavy smoke condition across the region has been confirmed due to the wildfires in Canada. Anyone with breathing problems and the elderly should stay indoors until this condition clears,” The Torringford Volunteer Fire Department posted on Facebook.
Harwinton’s volunteer fire department echoed that the smoke, and smell of it, is “from the large brush fires in the western part of the country.”
“With the humidity and temperatures up, it is a very hazy day, and there have been a number of calls for odors of smoke all over the area this morning, these have been from the large brush fires out west,” the fire department wrote.
Jessika Harkay can be reached at jharkay@courant.com.
