Along with wildfire season, comes a lot of smoke, and Western Idaho likely hasn’t hit prime fire season yet. However, there are places burning all around us, and while we may not see the flames firsthand, we deal with the smoke constantly.
Mike Toole from the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality says the air quality due to the smoke isn’t terrible yet, but it is fluctuating, "We've seen levels as high as the red in the afternoon, currently we're in the yellow, we're in the moderate,” says Toole.
The fluctuation is due to weather, during the heat of the day, the warm weather keeps the smoke above us, then as cooler temperatures set in into the evening and early morning, that smoke follows that path of least resistance. Finding places like roadways and rivers, which then brings that smoke into the valley.
As pollution sets in, health issues and allergies arise, so Toole says the number one thing people can do is just reduce their exposure.
