Children and Wildfire Smoke

Today’s Takeaway

Act early for children: keep them in cleaner air when AQI is poor, follow asthma plans, limit outdoor exertion, and seek help for breathing trouble or unusual sleepiness.

2-Minute Summary

Children can be more affected by smoke because their lungs are developing, they breathe more air relative to body size, and they may spend more time active outdoors. Prepare medications, watch AQI and school messages, create cleaner indoor air, and use indoor activities. Children should not participate in ash cleanup. Respirator fit is challenging, especially for very young children, so cleaner air is the main protection.

Quick Action Guide

Prepare medicines

Keep prescribed medicines, spacers, action plans, and clinician contacts ready.

Ask the child’s clinician how to adjust activities during smoke.

Move play indoors

Use a filtered room and reduce strenuous activity when air quality is poor.

Indoor air must also be protected from cooking smoke and other particles.

Check fit carefully

Children age 2 and older may wear a mask or respirator that fits comfortably and stays in place.

Adult occupational N95s may not fit children; never place masks on children under 2.

Get help early

Seek care for trouble breathing, persistent cough, worsening asthma, unusual sleepiness, or refusal to eat or drink.

Call 911 for severe breathing difficulty or other emergencies.

Why children need an earlier response

Children’s lungs and immune systems are developing. They breathe more air relative to body size and often spend more time running and playing outdoors. Children with asthma or chronic conditions may have symptoms at lower pollution levels.

Prepare before smoke season

Ask the child’s healthcare professional for an asthma or respiratory action plan.
Keep rescue medicine, spacers, controller medicine, and school authorization forms current.
Prepare a 7- to 10-day medication supply when possible.
Identify a clean-air room and test filtration.
Learn school closure, activity, and reunification procedures.

During smoky conditions

Check AQI and follow guidance for sensitive groups. Move play indoors and reduce strenuous activity. Keep windows and doors closed and use filtration. Avoid frying, grilling, candles, incense, smoking, and other indoor particle sources.

Respirators and children

CDC says children age 2 and older can wear masks or respirators, but NIOSH-approved respirators are generally designed for adult workplaces and may not fit children. A poor fit lowers protection. Choose a size that covers the nose and chin without blocking vision and that the child can keep on correctly.

Do not place a mask on a child under age 2. Do not force a respirator on a child who cannot breathe comfortably, communicate distress, or remove it independently. Cleaner indoor air is more reliable than depending on a mask for long periods.

Asthma and chronic conditions

Follow the written action plan. Keep medicine accessible during sleep, school, travel, and evacuation. Do not increase, decrease, or substitute medicine unless the plan or clinician directs it.

When to consider leaving

If a child continues to cough, wheeze, or struggle in the home despite filtration, seek a cleaner location and contact the clinician. CDC advises considering evacuation when breathing trouble or other symptoms do not improve. Extreme heat or power loss may also make relocation necessary.

After the fire

Children should not clean ash or debris. Keep them away until hazardous material is removed and local authorities say the area is safe. Wash ash from skin and rinse eyes with clean water if exposed. Continue checking AQI because smoke can return.

Emotional support

Children may experience fear, sleep changes, irritability, grief, or repeated questions. Maintain predictable meals and bedtime, limit alarming media, explain the plan in simple language, and let children help with safe tasks such as choosing books for the clean-air room.

Emergency signs

Get medical help for breathing difficulty, persistent cough, worsening wheeze, severe tiredness, or refusal to eat or drink. Call 911 for severe trouble breathing, blue or gray lips, fainting, confusion, or inability to wake normally.

School plans

Provide the school with current medication authorization and an action plan before fire season. Ask how outdoor activity is changed during poor AQI.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why are children more vulnerable?

Their lungs are developing, they breathe more air relative to body weight, and they may be more active outdoors.

Should children stay home from school?

Follow school, health department, and AQI guidance. Children with asthma may need a more protective plan from their clinician.

Can children wear N95 respirators?

Some children age 2 and older can wear a well-fitting mask or respirator, but adult NIOSH respirators may not fit. Cleaner air remains the priority.

Can a child under 2 wear a mask?

No. Masks should not be placed on children under age 2 because of suffocation risk.

What should be in an asthma kit?

Rescue medicine, spacer, controller medicine if prescribed, written action plan, clinician contacts, and enough medication for evacuation.

What indoor activities are best?

Quiet play, reading, crafts, building toys, gentle stretching, and screen-based connection can reduce exertion.

Should children help clean ash?

No. Keep children away from ash and debris.

What symptoms require care?

Trouble breathing, persistent cough, worsening wheeze, severe tiredness, inability to eat or drink, or symptoms that do not improve in cleaner air.

How can I explain smoke to a child?

Use calm, simple language: the outside air is dirty today, so the family is using cleaner indoor air until it improves.

How do I support emotional wellbeing?

Maintain routines, limit repeated alarming media, answer questions honestly, and provide comfort and connection.

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