This is part of our series Extreme Living: Climate Disruption Stories, where we share stories from Moms members about family life in an age of extremes.
I hadn’t been thinking much about wildfire smoke this summer—it only just began, after all—until a call with the Moms Clean Air Force team on Wednesday afternoon that quickly reminded me it’s that time of year. In June 2023, smoke from Canadian wildfires blew hundreds of miles south into the U.S., and somehow this has become an annual occurrence. This is our new climate-fueled reality. Wildfire smoke is no longer a health concern for only the Western U.S.; it’s a whole country problem.
Moments ago, I checked my Weather app, and sure enough, the Air Quality Index where I live in Virginia is reading Code Yellow (Moderate) with PM 2.5, a.k.a. soot pollution, as the primary pollutant. Soot pollution is the most harmful pollutant in wildfire smoke. I can only hope this all blows through before my daughter’s school field day tomorrow. Will I keep her home if it doesn’t?
This is a question we’re all asking now as wildfires supercharged by climate change disrupt our daily lives, our health, and our plans for the future.
Tell Congress: Protect Our Ability to Prepare for and Recover From Severe Weather Threats
Here are a few wildfire stories we’ve collected from our Moms members just this week:
Elizabeth Hauptman, Michigan
“Recently, my son came home from school pink-cheeked and exhausted. He told me he had to use his inhaler multiple times throughout the day—something that’s not normal for him. It was field day, and all he wanted was to run and play with his classmates. Instead, he struggled to breathe. Today, I sent him back with a fresh $200 inhaler and a note to the school nurse asking her to keep a close eye on him.
“The skies are hazy, the air smells like burning wood, and the alerts on my phone are all too familiar: Unhealthy air for sensitive groups. Avoid prolonged outdoor activity. My son just wants to play like every other kid. But it’s not safe. Wildfire smoke, full of fine particles and toxic chemicals, is no playground nuisance. It’s a serious health threat.”
Alexandra Zissu, New York
“Yesterday I kept coughing. I thought it was from a lingering cold, but when I picked up my 12-year-old daughter from school, she said her throat hurt. She, too, is recovering from this cold, so it seemed unlikely we were both sick again. Later that evening, I saw the sun set and realized why we had been coughing. The sun—just an eerie orange ball with no clear air around it—was telltale. We’ve learned in the past few years that only one thing creates a sunset like that: wildfire haze.
“This morning, still coughing, I saw an air quality alert from the National Weather Service had been issued for Ulster County, where we live in upstate New York.”
Jayne Black, Wisconsin
“As a mother of an adult son with asthma, I have watched my son struggle to breathe since he was a little boy. We are a family well versed in running to the emergency room in the middle of the night, terrified that he will not be able to get needed air into his lungs. The smoke coming in from the wildfires in Canada is a problem for my son, who already uses an inhaler, a rescue inhaler, and a nebulizer machine, along with additional medication for major flareups.
“The other day, I received a call from him, and I could tell that he was having a hard time breathing. I asked him, ‘Are you outside?’ He was, and he was trying to get to his inhaler, which was in his car. He had been affected so quickly by the wildfire smoke, it was so frightening. It breaks my heart to know that as global warming gets worse, nothing will get better for him. The concern parents have for their children’s health never changes; it doesn’t matter what age they are.”
Tell Congress: Protect Our Ability to Prepare for and Recover From Severe Weather Threats