FLETCHER, N.C. (WLOS) — Wildfire smoke is causing hazy skies in Western North Carolina, prompting air quality alerts for several counties.
Due to the major changes in air quality, some counties are experiencing Code Red air quality conditions, defined as air that is unhealthy for anyone to breathe. This is raising concerns to health officials.
“Particularly lung problems, things like asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, some heart condition, [which] will potentially put you more at risk,” said Dr. Damon Forbes, pulmonologist at Mission Hospital. “Our air quality is certainly going to get worse today. We may start to see more frequent patient encounters over the next couple of days.”
Exacerbation of conditions like asthma, COPD, heart disease, and diabetes can occur. Some at-risk people may also experience increased risk of hospitalization…