How to keep the air inside your home clean during wildfires

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How to keep the air inside your home clean during wildfires

2026-07-20 06:17 Last Updated At：06:31

MILWAUKEE (AP) — The eerie glow of an orange sun through thick wildfire smoke might be unnerving, but the biggest risk from the haze is something much harder to see.

Tiny particles in the air can cause a range of short-term and chronic health issues, experts say.

Wildfire smoke can settle over cities for days — like the recent blanket over parts of the U.S. from burning fires in Canada, which has created hazardous air for millions of people across multiple states.

Health officials advise people to stay indoors — and to take steps to keep the air in your home clean.

If you have central air conditioning, it should clean the air in your home.

Make sure filters are replaced on schedule and are of the highest level of filtration your system can handle. Filters rated MERV 13 or higher are ideal. Set the air to recirculate and close any vents that pull air from outside if you can. The University of Oregon's Center for Wildfire Smoke Research and Practice recommends running the system's fan through the entire smoke event, not just when cooling.

If you buy a portable air filter, look for a HEPA air filter or one that says it traps small particles of pollution. Ensure it does not generate ozone, another harmful air pollutant.

If you can only afford one portable air filter, use it to create a “clean room” in your house where you can spend most of your time.

“The basic message is that something is better than nothing,” said Amy Kalkbrenner, an environmental epidemiologist at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

There’s good evidence that DIY filters made by duct-taping furnace air filters to a box fan work.

They’re simple, relatively affordable and scientists at the Environmental Protection Agency have found they are just as good at removing fine particles of pollution from the air as a small commercial air purifier.

“The good news is they really work,” said Kalkbrenner.

All you need to have to make one is: four 20-by-20-inch (50.8-by-50.8-centimeters) furnace air filters rated MERV 13 or higher, a box fan, cardboard and duct tape. The EPA's website shows how you can modify the design to only use one or two filters. The fan should blow out, and the arrows on the filters should point in. Make sure everything is taped up airtight.

Many window air conditioners, mini-split heat exchangers and portable air conditioners don’t have the filters needed to remove fine pollution particles. But heat can also be dangerous.

“When smoke and heat occur together, the impacts on your health are even greater than when they occur by themselves,” said Jess Downey, a researcher at the University of Oregon’s Center for Wildfire Smoke Research and Practice

Downey said the ideal scenario is running the AC unit and using an air purifier or a DIY box fan filter to clean the air. Make sure your AC is well-sealed in your window frame, she added.

Make sure the window units are set to recirculate air. Portable units with a single hose should be used sparingly, according to the University of Oregon wildfire smoke center.

If you don't have AC, any reprieve from hot, smoky air is important. Head to the library, shopping mall or other space with clean, cool air.

Whether it's a towel, some tape, or something else — plug areas where air could enter from outside.

“Being from Chicago, I think you can liken it to trying to keep the cold air out,” said Dr. Khalilah Gates, a lung doctor with Northwestern Medicine. “Any areas in which air can come in, consider sealing up those areas to reduce the amount that's coming into the home.”

When smoke levels are high, experts recommend avoiding anything that burns — candles, fireplaces, even gas stoves — so plan ahead with some meal prep.

Exposure to wildfire smoke can lead to shortness of breath, chest tightness, headaches, and a burning sensation in the nose and eyes.

“When you ever start to feel those symptoms and they’re not severe, it’s important to acknowledge, ‘Oh, my body is responding to this. I need to move away from it. I need to move inside,'” Gates said.

If you're wheezing, can't catch your breath or are in distress, get to the emergency room immediately, she said.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Spain wins the World Cup by beating Argentina 1-0 on Ferran Torres' goal in extra time

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Ferran Torres’ first goal of this year's World Cup was the goal of his life, and it put Spain back atop the soccer world.

Denying Lionel Messi a second straight title in what he has indicated would be his final World Cup match, Torres came off the bench and scored in the 106th minute and Spain — in a match it simply dominated — ended Argentina’s reign with a 1-0 win on Sunday.

Torres pounced on a bouncing ball in the box and used his left foot to bury a shot just under the crossbar and into the back of the net.

“It was a goal scored by 47 million people,” Torres said, referring to Spain’s population.

Maybe not by them — but certainly for them.

It was Spain’s second title, this trophy getting added to the one claimed in 2010. And there’s no question about the center of the soccer universe now, not after this display.

Spain allowed only one goal in eight matches at the tournament, setting a World Cup record for fewest goals allowed by a champion. And this title, combined with the World Cup won by Spain’s women in 2023, makes the European nation the first to hold both the men’s and women’s titles simultaneously.

The score indicates this match was close, but only one team was in command.

Spain took the game’s first 20 shots on goal before Argentina — desperate for an equalizer — got its first attempt off in the second half of extra time. Spain took nine of the game’s first 10 corner kicks, and only a World Cup final-record 12 saves by Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez gave the 2022 champions a shot at going back-to-back.

Spain is now unbeaten in its last 38 matches — 29 wins, nine draws — and now is the outright holder of the longest such streak by any European team ever. Italy went 37 matches (28 wins, nine draws) from October 2018 through September 2021, before Spain ended that streak.

And for the last two-plus years, nobody has beaten Spain. Not even Messi. An Argentina team that was the kings of the late-game rally in this tournament had no answer this time.

Messi took a corner kick with about four minutes left before the final whistle and the ball took a fortunate skip toward reserve Giuliano Simeone — who sent it high and over the crossbar, holding his head in disbelief afterward.

The win made Spain coach Luis de la Fuente, at 65, the oldest coach ever to lead a team to the World Cup title.

“We are world champions,” de la Fuente said. “It was together we reached this stage.”

There was some pushing and shoving after the final whistle, which was quickly cleaned up and Spain commenced its celebration as most Argentina players sat on the turf in disbelief. Cooler heads prevailed, and Spain's players lined up minutes later to form an honor guard of sorts for Argentina's squad to walk through on its way to the stage for the runner-up medals.

Enzo Fernandez was sent off in second-half stoppage time after getting his second yellow card, meaning Argentina was forced to finish the match with only 10 players. Fernandez was carded for a reckless play that sent Spain defender Pau Cubarsi cartwheeling into the air, and the card came out immediately.

It was the 104th and last match of the biggest World Cup ever, a 48-team event that played out over the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Because there were more matches than any previous World Cup, it was no surprise that there were more goals than all other editions.

The spectacle was not limited to simply soccer.

Celebrities — from all walks of life — were there. Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, Matt Damon, Will Ferrell, Cillian Murphy, Daniel Craig, Jennifer Connelly, Jennifer Hudson, Jon Hamm, Matthew Broderick and Sarah Jessica Parker were among the actors at the game.

The NBA had enough talent there for a full All-Star Game, with the list of players attending including Stephen Curry, Victor Wembanyama, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Bronny James, Cade Cunningham, Cooper Flagg, Devin Booker, Donovan Mitchell, Draymond Green, Jalen Brunson, Jalen Williams, James Harden, Jaylen Brown, Karl-Anthony Towns, Kevin Durant and Tyrese Haliburton.

Serena Williams and Carlos Alcaraz were among the tennis royalty watching, the NFL had names like Eli Manning, Patrick Mahomes, Odell Beckham Jr. and Saquon Barkley in attendance, two of the greatest U.S. skiers ever in Mikaela Shiffrin and Lindsey Vonn were at the match — and, of course, there were soccer royalty with the likes of Kaka, David Beckham, Didier Drogba and Zinedine Zidane.

They came to see a show. So did 80,000 other people, not to mention perhaps as many as 2 billion watching around the globe.

Spain didn't disappoint.

See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here