Local public health officials advise how to deal with smoke

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KJCT) - Mesa and Montrose County Public Health officials have advice for residents when combatting poor air quality from wildfire smoke.

Officials urge residents to take precautions when spending time outdoors, especially if you are an older adult, have young children, and if you have heart or lung conditions such as asthma.

“They recommend that you stay indoors as much as possible. If you have any of those conditions, you have your windows and doors closed. If you have air conditioning, that you turn it on so it’s recirculating instead of pulling air from outside. If you have a swamp cooler, you could get an air purifier to help keep your house cool,” said Lisa Gallegos, Emergency Preparedness and Response (EPR) and Communicable Disease Coordinator.

Gallegos also said that if you don’t have access to cooling or air filtration, you should find a safe place indoors where you can stay cool and avoid the smoke. If you have to be outside, you can wear a mask to limit smoke exposure.

Montrose County Public Health Department is giving free KN-95 masks for residents.

“We decided to give out the masks to help protect our community from the air and all the smoke that’s there and the debris that’s coming in. We chose to do it here and on the west end at the sheriff’s office there on the West end, 141 W Main Street, they can go by and pick those up, they can come here to our public health and pick those up,” said Gallegos.

Montrose County School District is also making plans to provide indoor spacing for first responders camping out at Johnson Elementary School, in the event the air has too much smoke.

“As the district we are in continued communication with all of those response teams too. And we will certainly work with them if additional facilities are needed,” said Mikayla Unruh, Public Information Officer (PIO) for Montrose County School District.

According to Gallegos, constant smoke exposure can cause shortness of breath and headaches.

Be sure to stay up to date on any changes in air quality updates. For Mesa County resources click here. For Montrose County information click here.