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Wildfire smoke in Wisconsin, hardware store staying busy
You can actually smell the smoke in the air right now, and visibility across the city has dropped significantly throughout the day. Health officials say its simply not safe to be outside breathing this in, pushing many to take the right steps to be safe.
MILWAUKEE - Most of this week – heat and humidity were the enemies of comfort. But this smoke is a whole different level of annoyance and concern.
Sarah Babcock and her daughter Anna are not taking any chances.
"We didn't want to breathe it, we wanted to be safe," Sarah Babcock said.
Worst air quality ever
What we know:
As a thick blanket of smoke from the wildfires in Canada and Minnesota hit Milwaukee, health officials, along with the general public, took notice.
"The numbers are so high, so it's not worth it," Babcock said.
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The Wisconsin Climate Office and Department of Natural Resources say the air quality reached levels greater than 600 Thursday. For comparison, anything 100 and below is considered satisfactory. It is Milwaukee County's worst air quality ever.
"It's really bad," Anna Babcock said. "I don't know why no one has a mask on."
Debra Wandt was also noticing the haze during an interview in the Third Ward.
"It's obviously not good," Wandt said.
Keeping the hardware store busy
What we know:
While only a few people were caught wearing their masks out, local businesses – like Ace Hardware in Glendale – say smoky skies kept them busy.
"We had a lot of people are requesting air purifiers," Tony Gardner, a service counter specialist at Ace Hardware, said. "Requesting masks, requesting window air conditioning, fans."
They are just some of the essential items Gardner says can help keep people and their homes safe during times like this.
"I've had people come in and say they can't find air purifiers anywhere, there's no masks," Gardner said. "People are concerned about [the] impact on lungs and respiratory system with the amount of soot and the smoke that is coming down."
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As folks continue to find some normalcy, families like the Babcocks say they are doing their part to stay safe.
"Safety first, so we'll stay in until this passes," Babcock said.
Now, health officials say if people do have to go outside, they should try to limit their time and consider wearing an N95 mask to filter out those fine particles.
Portions of this article were formatted using A.I. FOX6’s Abril Preciado and an editor reviewed it for accuracy and tone prior to publishing.
The Source: Information in this story was gathered from Sarah Babcock, Anna Babcock, the Wisconsin Climate Office, the Department of Natural Resources, Debra Wandt, Ace Hardware, Tony Gardner and health officials.