It has reached the point where it burns my nose to breath outside, I can’t even drive with the windows down without my eyes tearing up. I know we are all excited to be out of confinement but at what point do we call it and go back inside for unhealthy work conditions? Where is all of this smoke coming from?

If you are like me, then you have an idea of what its like to work 2 jobs with no days off. After a while, you start to feel burned out and maybe start to rethink a couple life choices. Now to add on top of that an unhealthy air quality? Last I checked, IQair.com states the latest Boise AQI is at 187, an “Unhealthy” AQI index. I know that the last thing any of us would want is to be locked back inside our homes, but when you have a job that requires you to work outdoors such as myself. Staying indoors at home doesn’t sound like the worst idea.

A lot of this smoke just seems to be passing through and hopefully won’t be affecting the Treasure Valley for any extended period of time, according to fire.airnow.gov the fire and smoke map shows that a lot of the fires are coming from northern Idaho and Washington. There are also several in Oregon and California that are all having an effect on the air quality.

Anytime the AQI reaches above 150 it is Unhealthy for everyone to be involved in activities that induces heavy exertion. epa.gov also states that it is “Very Unhealthy” once AQI reaches 201. While we aren’t quiet there yet in the Treasure Valley and thankfully this seems to be the worst of it, aside from sensitive groups, most of us are okay to continue with outdoor activities but masks are recommended and outdoor physical actives to be avoided.