But the smoke followed them, hanging heavy in the air, sticking to the back of Stratton’s throat. “It burns your chest,” Stratton said, eating nachos in the Clackamas Town Center parking lot Sunday afternoon. Ten percent of all emergency-room visits in Oregon are for asthma-like symptoms, said Gabriela Goldfarb, a manager in the environmental public health section of the Oregon Health Authority. They felt more comfortable in their cars, where they could circulate the air to keep from breathing in the smoke. “It wakes you up.”The headaches and pain in Parham’s chest always feel worse at night, when the smoke feels thicker, she said.

Source: Washington Post September 14, 2020 18:16 UTC