She says emissions from things like transportation and heating have never triggered an air quality alert in Vermont, unlike wildfire smoke. That’s because wildfire smoke contains particles that cause longer-term damage to our bodies.

Wildfire smoke from the Bear Gulch Fire could create “unhealthy or hazardous” air quality conditions in Mason County over the next few days.

Air quality has taken a serious hit across the United States as a two-fold blow of wildfires in the West and in Canada have sent smoke pouring across large sections of the country — a problem that’s set to linger for days.