The air quality in Washington state's Tri-Cities area reached hazardous levels Aug. 26 due to ongoing wildfires, sending many people to the hospital with breathing issues, according to KEPR.
"[It] was probably the worst day that we've seen [for air quality]," Robin Priddy, director of the Benton Clean Air Agency, told KEPR.
Jim Hall, a spokesperson for Richland, Wash.-based Kadlec Regional Medical Center, said they've seen an uptick in patients with smoke-related breathing issues over the last week at its emergency rooms and urgent care sites,
"They had seen — just on the particular day that I checked — that there were eight people that had come in," Mr. Hall told KEPR. "Most of them were folks with [chronic obstructive pulmonary disease] that had their conditions exacerbated by the smoke."
Both Kennewick, Wash.-based Trios Health and Pasco, Wash.-based Lourdes Health also reported an increase in patients seeking emergency care due to breathing problems. At Lourdes Health, two patients had to be admitted over the weekend.
To avoid breathing issues, the Benton Clean Air Agency recommends people stay indoors in areas with air conditioning or clean filtered air when possible, close their windows and wear a breathing mask when going outside.