It’s smoky.

That much isn’t surprising to people who have been outside lately.

But the Flathead Valley has been so covered in smoke that eyes are stinging, breathing is labored and air-quality measures are setting new lows.

Advice from one respiratory therapist was simple: “Stay inside.”

According to Kristen Martin, air-quality meteorologist for the Montana Department of Environmental Quality, the particulates in the air are approaching the “hazardous” level.

“And it’s not looking good for any significant clearing,” she said Monday afternoon. “We might see some clearing next week when the winds shift, but until then, it doesn’t look like the smoke is going anywhere.”

On Monday, Flathead Valley air-quality levels were deep into the “very unhealthy” category, which means people should avoid exerting themselves outside.

A Flathead Valley air quality monitor was installed in 2011. The last week has seen the top four days for particulates in the air since then.

The most unhealthy recorded day was last Thursday, Aug. 20, when particulate in the air averaged 105 micrograms of gaseous pollutant per cubic meter of ambient air.

Sunday and Thursday were third and fourth, respectively, with 24-hour averages of 95 and 74.

The second most unhealthy day (pending the final daily average) was Monday when hourly numbers rose above 230 by late afternoon and the 24-hour average was 102.

“Hazardous” is defined by a number more than 125.

“It’s not hazardous yet, but it’s definitely trending that direction,” Martin said.

In health terms, people in Northwest Montana were starting to notice.

Carrie Bates, a respiratory therapist at North Valley Hospital, was surprised by the trends she had seen.

“It was little bit slow, patient-wise,” she said. “We started seeing a lot of the smokiness and expected to see patients come in right away. It took a few days for people to come in with difficulty breathing.”

A variety of ages were coming to the hospital with shortness of breath.

“Particles like this show themselves in asthma, obviously, but also show in [chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients]. People might even be having a little bit of pneumonia they weren’t aware they had,” Bates said. “We have been giving medication to open up the bronchials and open up the lungs. When it is like this, the lungs become inflamed and sort of squeeze down, making breathing hard.”

People with any sort of limited lung function are at risk, Bates said. These include the above-mentioned groups and people with other respiratory ailments.

Those ailments include asbestosis, a major concern in Libby.

Jennifer McCully, the public health coordinator for Lincoln County, said the hazardous levels were purposely written vaguely, but the intent was clear.

“People ask how long should we be outside,” she said. “Look outside: Just stay indoors. It’s gross. Schools are calling asking if they should cancel practice. Do you want to be running outside right now?”

McCully hadn’t heard specifics from abestosis patients but had heard many reports of people just struggling to breathe.

Bates has had similar experiences.

“I’m seeing some people wearing masks,” she said. “Women can wear scarves, men can use handkerchiefs. Just try not to breathe that stuff in. Stay inside. Don’t leave unless you absolutely have to.”

The health issues are more than just the obvious ones for heart and lung patients. The ALERT helicopter from Kalispell Regional Medical Center couldn’t respond to a call Monday — an ATV accident involving a victim impaled on a tree branch — because the chopper wasn’t legally allowed to take off in the thick smoke.

“Basically it’s government regulations for visibility requirements,” an ALERT employee explained. “This is the worst I’ve ever seen it out there.”

Where is the smoke coming from? Many places are contributing smoke to the Flathead Valley as wildfires burn across the Northwest.

“It is difficult to pinpoint the exact fires causing the smoke,” the state’s morning air advisory said. “Under the ridge of high pressure, the smoke is spreading over a large area, with individual plumes masked by the widespread smoke. There are currently 46 large, uncontained fires burning between Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Montana, along with numerous other smaller blazes.”

As the ridge of high pressure strengthens this week, winds aloft will shift more to the southwest. Although this may help redirect some of the dense smoke from Washington away from Montana, smoke from the large fires in Idaho and Western Montana will continue to cause smoke impacts.

Reporter Ryan Murray may be reached at 758-4436 or by email at rmurray@dailyinterlake.com.