Boise residents say ‘Holy smokes!’ after waking up to yellowish-gray skies
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Jennifer Auh reports on how the extremely smoky air on Thursday affected Boise residents, the city's tourist potential and the big BSU game. Video by IdahoOnYourSide.com
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The smoky air hovering over the city of Boise brought out some strong reactions on Thursday. “I was going holy smokes!” said one resident.
The smoke came from the Wenatchee Fire in Washington, and also several wildfires in Idaho.
Many residents described the smog as looking like something out of a movie. “It looked like a weird-colored sun coming up, smoke was a yellowish color,” said Randy Roberts, Boise resident.
It wasn’t as bad as it looked. The Idaho Department of Environmental Quality forecasted only a moderate yellow air quality for the valley.
However, doctors at the Boise Valley Asthma and Allergy Clinic told us many people still came in with respiratory flare-ups. They said the smoke could also take a toll on athletes with Thursday being BSU’s rival game against BYU.
Plus, that’s not the only toll the smoke took on Bronco's big game against BYU. ESPN nationally televised the big rivalry, but the only 'blue' shining at the game were the lights reflecting off the Smurf turf.
Tourism leaders said we’re not showing off all of what the city has to offer. “That's a great advertisement for us for Boise as a great destination, but I don't think you’re going to see foothills as clearly,” said Bobbie Patterson, Boise Convention Visitors Bureau.
The air quality in Boise may not look so great, but it's nothing compared to the mountains. DEQ’s website showed areas such as Salmon, Ketchum and even McCall with dangerous amounts of smoke on Thursday.
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