I'm a mom of 4 living in Colorado. I've had to escape fires multiple times, and I worry how they affect my kids.

• My family moved from Wisconsin to Denver in 2021.
• On December 2021 I had to evacuate with our four young children because of the fires.

In 2021 my husband received a job offer just north of Denver metro. Eager to escape the cold of central Wisconsin and be near mountains, we leaped at the opportunity and made the cross-country move during the summer.

A friend asked if I was concerned about my young kids. She described a conversation with a nurse friend of hers in Colorado who worked in the NICU. Several infants had been discharged recently with oxygen because of poor air quality, partly due to wildfires. I didn't think much of it at the time.

However, by December 2021, Denver had still not received any snow. We'd had so many red flag warning days in a row, without significant consequences that I felt numb to them. Red flag warning days meant days of high fire risk and are often combined with high winds.

On December 30, 2021, there were exceptionally high winds, with the wind storm throwing out 70 to 100 mph gusts. Our living room at the time had large, glass windows. For safety, I took my kids to the basement to play.

The Marshall Fire

Mid-morning, I received a message from my husband wondering if I was OK and that a fire had broken out nearby. I went upstairs and realized that what I had thought was a cloud earlier was smoke.

It was dark, thick, and evident that it was close. With four young kids and a dog, I wasn't going to waste time figuring out exactly where this fire was. The darkening smoke outside warned us that we needed to leave.

I gathered the kids, water, snacks, diapers, and the dog, loaded them all in the minivan, and drove north, away from the smoke. We eventually reached a hotel, where we met up with my husband and turned on the news.

Terrifying scenes played on nearly every channel. Our oldest, only 4 years old then, asked if what she saw on TV was real life. We shut off the screen, and I regretted not looking harder for the cat and grabbing him, too. Fortunately, our home was safe, but countless families lost everything.

The unrelenting winds made any initial attempts to control the fire nearly impossible. The fire damaged or destroyed over 1,000 homes and several businesses. The playground I had taken my kids to a day prior after a Target run completely burned down.

Snow, more fires, and smoke

When we returned home after evacuating, the sky still held an eerie, off-gray shade. And you could still smell the smoke. After the Marshall Fire, 2022 saw a number of red flag warnings in a row, and more fires followed.

It snowed the day after the Marshall Fire, a welcome relief. However, we were warned by our neighbors not to let our kids eat it. A piece by National Public Radio explains how the lattice structure of snowflakes allows them to act as a sort of atmospheric scrub brush, catching contaminants on their way down.

After such a devastating and widespread fire, the fresh snow was likely toxic.

There were several poor air quality days throughout 2022, many related to wildfire smoke. In the moms groups I'm a part of on social media, I saw several parents ask if others had considered leaving Colorado due to the increased wildfire smoke and poor air quality over the years. Many had children with asthma who struggled during wildfire season.

Climate change and wildfires

The Environmental Protection Agency explains that largely due to climate change, the wildfire season has lengthened. Additionally, wildfires are now also more frequent and burn larger areas. Fires are also burning hotter. Snow is melting earlier in the year, and many areas have seen reduced snowpack. This results in drier conditions where fires are able to begin far more easily.

Besides climate, the EPA describes several other land management factors also contributing to the increased number and destructiveness of wildfires.

In some ways, it feels like a perfect storm that is constantly tipping over. In 2021 and 2022, it seemed there was never an actual end to the fire season. The Marshall Fire happened in late December, and after a brief reprieve, we received evacuation notices due to another larger fire in April, the NCAR fire.

Thankfully no structures were harmed in the NCAR fire, but the stress and anxiety were palpable.

Asthma, air quality, and health

Wildfires and the subsequent smoke are a way of life out here, and not without consequence.

The American Academy of Pediatrics explains how wildfires can have especially detrimental effects on kids. Since they are smaller than adults, pound by pound, children consume more toxic chemicals from wildfires in their food, water, and by simply breathing.

The toxic exposures can have negative health consequences at critical developmental points in their lives. The smoke, debris, and other chemicals released into the air also negatively impact children with asthma and respiratory disease. Additionally, experiencing a wildfire at a young age can have profound psychological effects.

This year, one of our twins experienced an unrelenting cough during an especially bad cold and flu season. While my other kids constantly caught new bugs, they'd usually recover for at least a few days before the next one hit.

However, our sweet boy's cough would never completely go away. When he caught the flu, the other kids were sick, but his lips and nailbeds turned blue, prompting an emergency department visit. And when the cough still lingered months later, we found ourselves being evaluated for asthma by our pediatrician.

Fortunately 2023 has brought significantly increased snowfall totals for much of Colorado. We are grateful and hope it means a lessened fire season for the rest of the year. However, 2021-2022 will always be a stark reminder of what is possible for wildfires and a warning for what may be to come.