Residents on Colorado’s Front Range grow weary of wildfire smoke and ozone

Another day with “unhealthy” air quality rankings passed Wednesday as Coloradans with respiratory issues huddled indoors to keep from breathing the smoke and ozone-laden air.

“Not good, yeah,” said Jacques Middlecoff as he left National Jewish Health. “Certainly because of these fires. I mean last couple of years have been bad,” he said. Middlecoff has had breathing problems after an accident, then after a moderate case of COVID he developed long COVID. He has to have oxygen for breathing help. “I see the smoke outside and so I just don’t go out much.”

That is what a lot of Coloradoans have been doing this week. While morning hours before the sun helps with the chemical reaction between volatile organic compounds and nitrogen oxides and ozone builds as it gets hotter.

“There are certainly going to be more short-term respiratory complaints and then there’s the hidden impact. This increases the risk of stroke and heart attack really quite significantly,” said Dr. Anthony Gerber, a professor of medicine and director of pulmonary research at National Jewish Health.

Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment monitors on the west and east sides of Denver as well as parts of Boulder, Fort Collins, Greeley and Colorado Springs showed levels well above 90 parts per billion Wednesday. Over 70 parts per billion is considered unhealthy.

“I think what we’re seeing right now is really very ultra fine particles from these wildfires. They’re not big enough to block out the sun and yet they contain some precursors,” said Dr. Gerber. Fires burning in Canada have been sending smoke into the Front Range leading to the trouble. It is another summer of such smoke and high ozone following fires and smoke from Colorado, the Western US and Canada in recent years.

The smoke cuts into the successes in reducing emissions from automobiles and power plants due to regulation in recent decades.

“We’ve reduced it but as we’ve grown the number of people there’s more people making pollutants,” said Dr. Gerber about Colorado’s situation in trying to cut ozone levels. Those reductions are facing other challenges as well. “They’re getting challenged with wildfires and climate. So I think we’re treading water.”

Figuring out what to do is a complicated mix of potential actions.

“This isn’t just a theoretic problem for regulators, it’s something that really does effect the care of our most vulnerable patients.”