There’s been a haze over southwest Idaho since Monday evening from several fires in the region. The air quality in the Treasure Valley Tuesday falls in the moderate range. Dave Luft with Idaho’s Department of Environmental Quality says that’s considered safe for most people.
“Now if you are in what we call a sensitive population which would be the elderly, children, or people with a preexisting condition such as heart or lung issues like asthma, those people may want to curtail physical activities," he says. "And depending on how susceptible they are they may want to stay inside.”
Luft says the air is better in the mountains Tuesday with people in McCall breathing easier. He says while there are large fires burning between Mountain Home and Twin Falls, most of the smoke in the air is coming from a fire in southeast Oregon. When it comes to small particles, like from smoke, air quality can be pretty accurately judged by looking out the window. But Luft says other pollutants, like ozone, can make it hard to breathe on crystal clear days.