Wildfires - dangerous for asthma

 

 

 I am watching the news as they cover the Los Alamos fire. 

 Wildfires make me REALLY nervous, Son #2 came close to dying after a forest fire in our valley several years ago. 

It was 4th of July weekend about 10 years ago, and there was a forest fire that caused the smoke to blanket the valley. Fires are scary because they can change direction quickly and the smoke can change direction as well.

Son #2 was outside playing with friends while the smoke slowly crept into the valley, and before we knew it, he was in trouble. Breathing treatments didn't work, and we quickly ended up in the Emergency Room, where things went from bad to worse. 

He continued to decline, and we found out later that they had the "crash cart"outside his room in case he quite breathing. And he came VERY close to that.

If you have asthma, stay indoors if there's a fire! Luckily, we have central air, so we can keep the windows closed up and stay safe (and keep breathing) inside. I know that fires draw people to the hillside, they are mesmerized by the flames and the excitement of all the people.

If you can stay away, do it! Fires can be unpredictible, even fire fighters have lost their lives when the wind or fire suddenly shifted.

And I noticed in the story on ABC news, that people at the emergency shelter where complaining about not being able to breath. How many of them have asthma? It's a scary thought.

If you need to evacuate, do it quickly! After Son #2's experience with the forest fire, I was a bit shell shocked. So when another fire occurred a couple of years later, as soon as I smelled smoke, I packed up our duffel bags and headed out of town. We drove 5 hours away to visit grandma, who lived in an area unaffected by the fire. 

We could finally breathe!

Don't take any chances, fires are deadly, and as all of you with asthma know, everything is magnified with asthma. What may be make a normal person "uncomfortable" can cause us to quit breathing.

And to all of the firefighters, THANK YOU! for putting your life on the line so we can keep breathing. Please be careful.