Mesa County Public Health (MCPH) has issued a smoke advisory due to smoke from the Trail Mountain wildfire in central Utah, approximately 145 miles west of Grand Junction.
Smoke from this fire is moving into the Grand Valley, causing hazy skies and possibly unhealthy conditions for sensitive groups including people with heart or lung disease, older adults and young children. If visibility is less than five miles due to smoke, smoke has reached levels that are unhealthy.
Residents are advised to take the following precautions to stay healthy:
- Avoid heavy outdoor exertion such as running or other forms of exercise.
- Keep your indoor air clean and stay inside.
- Close your doors and windows and turn off systems that ventilate air from outside in, including your swamp cooler.
- You can run your air conditioner, if you have one, but keep the fresh-air intake closed and the filter clean.
- If you do not have an air conditioner and it’s too warm to stay inside without your swamp cooler on or windows closed, seek shelter with a friend or family member with a closed air circulation system.
- Avoid activities that increase indoor pollution. You want to keep your indoor air as clean as possible.
- Do not vacuum. It stirs up dust in your home.
- Do not smoke tobacco in your home.
- Do not burn candles, fireplaces or gas stoves.
- Don’t rely on dust masks for protection.
- Paper masks commonly found at hardware stores are designed to trap large particles, like sawdust. They won’t protect your lungs from the small particles found in wildfire smoke.
- Contact your health care provider if you’re concerned about your health.
Keep in mind, we are in a drought year and will likely be affected by smoke from wildfires throughout the summer. Make a plan that works for your family and be ready to exercise it.