SALT LAKE CITY — Jason Heideman, the cross-country and track coach at Judge Memorial Catholic High School, said his team started noticing it Tuesday.

"We cut (practice) way short because I actually was getting reports from some of the kids that they were having a hard time breathing," he said. "I usually run with the kids, and I noticed it myself."

Heideman said he and his students have experienced itching eyes, burning lungs and difficulty breathing while running outside over the past few days.

As fires continue to rage across California, Oregon and Washington, Utahns have been seeing — and feeling — the effects.

"It doesn't look pretty," said Utah Department of Environmental Quality spokeswoman Donna Spangler.

On Friday, the department issued an orange alert for Box Elder and Cache counties after the concentration of fine particulate matter rose above the threshold that is safe for children, older adults and people with respiratory problems.

Spangler said the department is asking businesses to let their employees work from home and encouraging people to limit their driving to avoid adding more pollutants, particularly ozone, into the air.

Unlike winter inversions, when polluted air sits in the valley, the haze from the wildfires is evenly dispersed throughout the atmosphere all the way into the mountains, according to Spangler.

"If you're looking out at the sky, you're seeing a lot of little tiny particulates," she said. "They're so small that they're a quarter width of the human hair."

It's those tiny particles, according to Denitza Blagev, a pulmonologist with Intermountain Healthcare, that are the most dangerous.

Although larger particles cause more immediate symptoms, like eye and throat irritation, the fine particles are "exactly the right size" for getting deep into your lungs and the bloodstream, according to Blagev.

Exposure to fine particulate matter has been associated with increased risk of not only asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, but also clotting, heart attack and stroke.

"Cumulatively, those are the higher risk for cancer, lung cancer, death and other problems," she said.

Blagev said she's seen a significant increase in patients with shortness of breath and experiencing flare-ups of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease since the smoke started arriving in Utah last week.

She recommended people at risk for lung or heart disease, young people and the elderly should try to stay inside with the windows closed and make sure their air is being recirculated through filters.

People should also move their workouts indoors if possible, according to Blagev.

When will the smoky conditions across Utah improve? See our graphic for details! #utwxpic.twitter.com/zRMVwiXwVI — NWS Salt Lake City (@NWSSaltLakeCity) August 21, 2015

"When we exercise, we take deeper breaths," she said, "and that's more efficient at getting the air pollution in." In northern Cache County, where particulate matter concentration is higher, athletes preparing for the Top of Utah Half Marathon have raised concerns with race organizers.

Race director Kris Siddoway said organizers have been closely monitoring the air quality with Bear River Health Department officials.

"We're definitely hoping and praying for some wind to come through this afternoon," Siddoway said Friday as the air quality index hovered at orange.

She said forecasts show air pollution levels back at moderate levels by Saturday morning, when the race is scheduled to take place.

Officials are offering deferments to any participants who request them, said Siddoway, who added that at least one person had already taken a deferment.

"I have told runners to watch very, very closely and make personal decisions if they're sensitive," she said.

National Weather Service meteorologist Monica Traphagan said it would likely be the middle of next week, "maybe late Sunday, but more likely Monday into Tuesday as the wind starts to move southwest," until Utahns see significant relief.

Until things get better, Heideman said, he's keeping his runners indoors.

On Thursday, concerned about some of his students who have problems with asthma — including his own son — he pulled the team out of an invitational.

The team has since moved practice to the school's fitness room.

"It's not as good training as what we normally do, but to me it's just worth it," Heideman said. "I thought, 'Hey, it's just no sense in making kids sick.'"

• Go to air.utah.gov and check the air quality forecast for your county; or download the UtahAir app, developed by Weber State University students, that draws on the same information.

• Stay inside if you have respiratory problems or are younger or elderly. Consider exercising indoors.

• Carpool or take public transportation to avoid adding more pollutants, particularly ozone, into the air.

Contributing: Nkoyo Iyamba, Jed Boal

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Experts: Utah air 'looks bad;' no serious health threat

Thick smoke from wildfires in other Western states continues to waft into Utah and foul the state's air. Utah has escaped the worst of the fire season so far, but the smoke from the raging fires to the west is wafting over the region. Fortunately, the people who monitor Utah's air quality say it looks worse than it is.

Email: dchen@deseretnews.com Twitter: DaphneChen_

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