By Abby Huseth, Shanti Devins, Susan Teitelman, and Amy Cilimburg

On July 10, the Held v. Montana case, the first constitutional climate case ever to go to trial, went before the Montana Supreme Court. Hundreds of Montanans packed the Helena courtroom and viewed the live stream at watch parties across the state. The formal language and process of court proceedings could not dim this extraordinary moment in history: the highest court in our state was a platform for how the climate crisis is impacting all of us, through the stories of 16 amazing Montana youth.

Though the case has yet to be decided, it’s already making an impact. The Held youth have brought to a larger stage the reality that climate change is not a future problem -- we’re experiencing its effects now. Stepping outside on a mid-July day like today here in Missoula, that seems more obvious than ever. A relentless heat wave combined with smoke from a fire burning just miles away makes for a visceral experience of climate change. On days when we feel trapped under this hot, gray dome, it can feel oppressive. How can we stay sane, get perspective and keep acting with hope?

Here are some ways our team is responding this summer, and ideas for what to do if you’re feeling the effects of the heat and smoke, too.

Abby
I’m a parent of two boys aged six and three. I was pregnant during the awful smoke season of 2017, when we didn’t know as much about how to stay healthy. Every summer since, the first whiff of wildfire smoke brings me back to that place of anxiety I felt for weeks on end in 2017. It’s hard not to think, what kind of a parent am I if I can’t protect my children from the very air they breathe?

It helps to remember that multiple things can be true at the same time. I can feel the weight of climate impacts AND keep taking action on solutions. I can recognize and process emotions like fear and grief AND be grateful for those doing good work all around us. Kids are a good model for holding these multiple realities: just this morning my oldest asked me if the air quality was “in the orange”, because he knows his outside play time at school will be limited if so. Moments later, he informed me that his latest Magna-tile creation was an electric RV that had a fan to blow the smoke away AND solar panels to charge. (My proud heart was bursting.) This summer, I’m working to hold these multiple truths at once: this is hard, AND it won’t last forever.  My experience is unique, AND it helps to talk about it with others and realize I’m not alone. I feel sadness about the world my kids are inheriting, AND a deep sense of hope as all generations band together to build a livable present and future.

Shanti
Last summer, I remember this moment while watching the Held v Montana district court trial. The expert on the stand was testifying to how detrimental our climate could be for today’s youth if we didn’t act now, and the ways youth would be impacted because of the warming that’s already occurred. I burst out crying. I had taken a pregnancy test the morning before and it was positive. I was overjoyed to be carrying this little life – we wanted a baby badly - but hearing that testimony was more than I could bear in that moment. My career was centered on the climate crisis, but becoming a parent amplified everything. Suddenly it seemed almost unbearable, but at the same time, I’d never felt so proud and committed to my work.

Our team of dedicated women is small, but mighty. And our efforts are supported and expanded by so many others in our community leaning in, working toward a better future for us all. BECAUSE IT IS STILL POSSIBLE. We have amazing solutions available right now, like getting off methane gas (aka “natural” gas) in our homes and switching to efficient, electric appliances. We can take advantage of tax incentives for rooftop solar, weatherization or adding a mini-split heating / cooling system. We can show up to planning meetings to advocate for climate smart solutions and tell our representatives this issue is a top priority. There is so much we can do to improve our immediate health and comfort and the future for our children. We just have to do it. Please join us and get involved today.

Susan
Here in Missoula, this is the 12th day above 90 degrees, with no respite in sight. The air is filled with wildfire smoke and the Norway Maple in my front yard is thirsty for a drink. To stay cool, I’m running a window air conditioning unit in my living room. It’s admittedly not the most energy efficient solution, but a necessary measure to protect my physical and mental health during these hot summer days.
 
In my work over the past year, I’ve learned about the upward trends of extreme heat in Montana, the negative health impacts of wildfire smoke, and the dire effects of heat and drought on our urban tree canopy. But I’ve also learned that humans and animals, cities and natural ecosystems, are incredibly resilient. We have in our hands, and are helping to shape, solutions to the impacts of climate change.
 
In my corner of the local climate world, my colleagues and I have created an Extreme Heat Toolkit to help the Missoula community prepare for increasing heat events; we’ve told hundreds about the resources at MontanaWildfireSmoke.org and have distributed dozens of HEPA air purifiers so folks can clean their indoor air; and we’re working to grow our community’s tree canopy - which will ease the Urban Heat Island effect - through our Trees for Missoula program (hint: water your trees please!). So, while some days I still feel overwhelmed by the climate crisis, the larger part of me is filled with perseverance and purpose. Every day I get to go to work with a rad group of climate comrades who are working to build a resilient Missoula.

Amy
I’ve a confession to make. On a cool fall day, I love hiking in post-fire forests. In a past life, I worked on field studies to understand fire ecology, especially the birds that flock to burned forests. It’s lovely – the new growth, the cool beetles, the morels of spring.  At the same time, come July my mood shifts, and I fear the extreme heat, the fires, and the gloom of smoke. The more we learn about the dangers of breathing dirty air, the more concerned I am for the health of all of us (please read about the baby monkeys). This is the 9th year I’ve spent my summer watching the forecasts and angling for cleaner, cooler indoor air for everyone (check out Be Ready for Wildfire Smoke). It all feels scary and hard to hold. Yet that is what we are asked to do right now –– nod to the past (fire is a natural part of our landscapes), show up for today (let’s help those most vulnerable have a shot at a healthy life), and know that the future is not yet written.

Right now, I hold a jumble of conflicting feelings in my head and heart. Furiously clicking on the fire/smoke map for updates, on the weather app for a better (cooler!) long-range forecast. Today I was thinking that living under a heat dome is sort of a metaphor for these times. And the truth is, our collective actions can actually whittle down the edges of the dome, shrinking it, and they can poke holes in the dome, holes that ripple and grow. And we have to take such actions now, this year and next. Because later just might be too late.
 
Our hot takes during this hot summer: it is about connection and action and taking a deep breath whenever the air allows. Talk about your feelings and give Grounding a listen. As author and activist Bill McKibbin often advises: yes, take action around the contours of your life, and yet the most important thing an individual can do is be less of an individual -- join together with others in movements large enough to make a difference. Stay safe this summer and join us in building an impactful movement.

by Amy Cilimburg, Sarah Coefield, and Kerri Mueller

After a lovely, slow start to summer, it’s suddenly taking a turn— extreme heat advisories are in effect this week and some even had their first smell of wildfire smoke last weekend. As temperatures rise and fire danger increases, so too does the likelihood of smoke filling our valleys. That means it’s time to get smoke ready!

While wildfire smoke and heat often go hand in hand, this week, it’s just hot. Given the current heat advisory, please do what you can to stay healthy during these coming hot days: stay hydrated, adjust your activity levels, cool your home at night as best you can, and check in on your friends and neighbors. Heat can be deadly, and we need to work together to keep everyone safe.

Now on to fires and smoke—welcome to our fourth annual Wildfire Smoke Ready Week July 8-13. Every year, we dedicate a week to promoting preparedness in the face of increasing wildfire smoke. Human caused climate change is bringing longer and more intense fire seasons, yet there are ways we can prepare and stay healthy. In addition to being on the airwaves and on social media (#wildfiresmokeready), you can find us on:
-          July 10 at Out to lunch at Caras Park
-          July 12 at the Missoula Public Library (2-4 pm)
-          July 13 at both Farmers Markets

Why do we care so much about smoke? For those of us who’ve lived through past fire seasons, we know what it’s like. The air physically feels different. The smoky air is laden with fine particulate matter and volatile organic chemicals.

These components can cause a multitude of health effects, ranging from less severe (irritated eyes and nose, headaches, coughing) to more severe (reduced lung function, worsened asthma attacks and COPD symptoms, increased likelihood of heart attack and stroke, increased susceptibility to infectious disease, and increased hospitalizations and deaths.)

The most harmful ingredient in smoke is fine particulate matter 2.5 microns in diameter and smaller, known as PM2.5. These tiny particles can travel deep into your respiratory tract and even pass into the bloodstream, initiating a systemic inflammatory response. Not good!

While smoke is bad for everyone, children, teenagers, older adults, pregnant people, people with heart and lung disease, and people who can’t avoid exposures, such as outdoor workers and people living outside, are at greater risk of health impacts. That’s a lot of people.

For those who can go indoors when smoke rolls in, that’s a great first step to protect your health. Unfortunately, smoke still makes its way inside our homes and businesses. It enters via doors, windows, cracks, vents, and commercial HVAC systems. The longer a smoke event drags on, the more likely smoke will move indoors.

The good news is the fine particles in smoke can be readily filtered from indoor air!

Here’s how we can all take measures to protect ours and our loved one’s health when smoke rolls in (all this and more is updated regularly on montanawildfiresmoke.org):

1. Stay alert for changing conditions. Check local air quality monitors online at fire.airnow.gov and check often! Look outside; if you can’t see five miles, the air quality is unhealthy.
2. Reduce outdoor activity levels. The more physically active you are, the more air you breathe in, and the more smoke you’ll breathe into your lungs. Slow your roll a bit to cut some of your exposure and be creative with ways to stay active inside clean indoor spaces.
3. Clean your indoor air! There are several ways to clean your air and they all come down to filtration. Also, be sure to keep your indoors cool. Heat is immediately dangerous. If you don’t have air conditioning, that may mean opening your windows at night and letting smoky air inside. Once your home has cooled, close doors and windows and filter the indoor air.
4. Use HEPA portable air cleaners (PACs). Have at least one PAC and keep it in the room where you spend the most time. Make sure the PAC is sized appropriately for the room it’s in and does not generate ozone. If it’s in a large room, you’ll need a pretty beefy PAC or more than one. Close doors and windows to that room and run the PAC on the highest setting you find tolerable. Be sure to replace the filter when it gets dirty. You may need to change the filter more often than recommended during a smoke event.
5. Make your own air cleaner with a box fan and furnace filters. Got a newer box fan lying around and some duct tape? Use it to clean your indoor air! Get a high efficiency HVAC filter (ideally MERV 13). Attach the filter on the back of the box fan, and you’re set. A basic DIY fan/filter is good for a room that’s about 150 ft2. Check our website for more tips on how to build your own air cleaner. Only use fans manufactured since 2012 (newer models have important safety features) and note these devices are noisier than HEPA PACs.
6. For whole house filtration, upgrade the HVAC filter in your central air handler. Select the highest efficiency filter your home HVAC system can handle (ideally MERV 13, but MERV 11/12 will still help). Keep the fan running for continuous cleaning. Note that some central air systems may not be able to use high efficiency filters. If this is the case, use HEPA PACs or DIY fan/filters to clean your indoor air.
7. For commercial HVAC systems, it isn’t as simple as upgrading the filter (although that’s an important first step!). Commercial HVAC systems have a lot of moving parts and functions that can let smoke indoors. Operators should follow ASHRAE’s “Planning Framework for Protecting Commercial Building Occupants During Smoke Events” found on our website here.
8. Consider using an N95 or KN95 respirator mask. Note that these are hard to size for children, and facial hair can prevent a good seal. Do not use a respirator if you have trouble breathing through it.
9. What about Pets? They too, are impacted by smoke pollution. Bring them inside and curtail their exercise when air quality is poor.
10. Be fire safe! Do your part to avoid human-caused fires. Make sure campfires are cool to the touch before leaving them, make sure you aren’t dragging chains on the road, and don’t flick cigarette butts into dry grass. Find more information at www.mcfpa.org!
11. Take care of your mental health. Smoke can be gloomy and overwhelming. Please reach out to someone close to you or a mental health professional to share your feelings and for help.
12. Take climate action. We know that the antidote to climate fear and frustration is to find ways to get involved: No one can do everything, but everyone can do something as we, collectively, make the energy transition, electrify our homes, shift our transportation system, add our voices for smart policies and new opportunities, and so much more. Check out Climate Smart Missoula’s Get Involved webpage.
    

Above all, don’t despair. Yes, fire season is on its way and smoke is an unfortunate part of most summers, but snow will fly and skies will clear. In the meantime, we know how to keep ourselves, our loved ones, and our communities healthy. And we can take action to stay healthy and do our part to reduce fossil fuel pollution!

Breathe safe!

Amy Cilimburg is the executive director at Climate Smart Missoula. Sarah Coefield and Kerri Mueller are Air Quality Specialists with Missoula Public Health.