STAMFORD — Sherla Brito had never had an asthma attack until the orange smog wafted into Stamford earlier this week.
On Tuesday, Brito left the daycare center where she works for a break. After walking less than a block, she became dizzy, then was having trouble breathing, moving and talking. Brito's boss let her leave work early to recuperate.
"I didn’t actually know I was having an asthma attack," Brito said as she waited for the bus in front of Veterans Memorial Park Wednesday. "It was just really scary because I couldn’t even move around, and it actually felt like my lungs were getting clogged up."
On Wednesday, Brito was back to work. She was also donning a blue-green N95 facemask — one of a handful of Stamford residents masking up to protect themselves against wildfire smoke and pollutants drifting down from Canada.
Air quality monitoring sites across Connecticut reported unhealthy levels of fine particles in the air early Wednesday morning, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Fire and Smoke Map. The level means most people should generally try to stay inside and keep any outdoor activities light and short, the EPA said.
But staying at home wasn't possible for many residents downtown. Despite the hazy and sepia-toned skies, people were still living their lives — eating outdoors, working jobs, taking public transportation. A group of women riding a CT Transit bus said they never took their masks off from the COVID-19 pandemic.
At Stamford Health, there was one patient in the emergency room because of an asthma episode on Tuesday. Heather Machen, director of pediatric emergency medicine, said the number of patients with respiratory issues could increase given "persistent poor air quality."
Michael Bernstein — who heads the hospital's division of pulmonary, critical care and sleep — said people most at risk are those with lung and heart diseases such as asthma and pulmonary fibrosis.
Other parts of the country are more accustomed to smoke from wildfires, which have increased in risk and severity in recent decades due to climate change.
“If we lived in (Los Angeles) or Salt Lake City or Denver, these areas experience issues like this much more frequently than we do on the East Coast and particularly in southern New England, right up against New York City,” Bernstein said.
Bernstein said he hopes everyone, but particularly those at risk, take precautions for future wildfires. He recommended keeping inhalers and other prescriptions filled, checking air quality conditions before taking activities outside and staying with friends and family if one's home does not have adequate air filtration.
“You never know when the next time may come, and a little preparation will help everybody,” Bernstein said.
Stamfordites wearing masks said that it had helped their breathing over the past few days.
Norma Cachay said she saw doctors recommending masks on the news. She doesn't know if she has asthma or allergies, but she didn't want to take any chances — even though some people had looked at her funny, she said Wednesday.
“I feel like I need it to breathe more,” Cachay said through her surgical mask.
Andres Oyola had his albuterol inhaler handy as he walked to work at his job on Bedford Street Wednesday. Oyola, who has asthma and seasonal allergies, said he had been wearing a facemask for weeks after finding it helped reduce his allergy symptoms.
Ultimately, he said the diminished air quality is unfortunate, but he's ready to take precautions.
“It just seems like this is inevitable," Oyola, 24, said. "I’m just going to take precautions, really. It’s sad, but it is what it is; it’s kind of what we have to deal with.”
