SALT LAKE CITY — Getting outside for some exercise is part of the day Katie Baldwin just can’t skip.
“I come to the park pretty regularly," she said. "I try to get out. I work in a hybrid situation, so definitely getting out on walks is, like, part of my mental health state.”
Baldwin noticed the air was different Friday.
“It feels like smoke a little bit," she said. It's not like terribly bad in the park today but definitely can feel it in your lungs. Is affecting my throat and voice as well.”
If you can smell the air, taste it, see it and it bothers you, it might be time to go inside and close the windows or put on a mask, said Bo Call, an air monitoring section manager with the Utah Division of Air Quality.
"Listen to your body," he said. "It may look worse than it is, but if you feel it and smell it, then it's bad enough that you need to be doing something about it."
Andy May, who's spent much of his life in Salt Lake City as well as in India, says this wildfire smoke is nothing.
"I know what bad air is — really, really bad air," he said. "And compared to that air, the air in Salt Lake is so much better. It's really a blessing.”
There are rarely days in Salt Lake City when he wouldn’t leave his house, he said.
“I mean, if there was a fire nearby and there was a lot of smoke, obviously to protect myself and my family, I would be at home, you know? I would probably use an air purifier," he said. "But today is not that day.”
Salt Lake Fire Emergency Management says there are some things you can do to stay as healthy as possible during periods of bad air quality:
- Keep windows and doors closed
- Close the fresh air intake vent on window AC units
- Consider buying an indoor air purifier
- Use N95 masks
- Avoid being too active
