My family lives in Colorado and we know the risks of wildfire smoke. This is what parents and caregivers in impacted areas should do now.

• My husband and our four kids live in Colorado.
• We've had to evacuate our home in the past because of wildfires and smoke.

Wildfires in Canada were off to an unprecedented start in May. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration explains that parts of northwestern Canada lie in a rain shadow up against the Rocky Mountains. In most springs, the snow melts, and the dry undergrowth becomes exposed and vulnerable to ignition. However, once the new spring growth comes in, the fire risk typically decreases, partly due to moisture in the new growth.

This year, however, the weather was hotter, drier, and windier than usual. These conditions allowed what typically would have been containable wildfires to become more extreme and long-lived events.

As Colorado residents, our family is no stranger to the risks of wildfires and the impact the smoke can have on our family's health.

Wildfire smoke can impact daily life

With harmful fine particulate matter (one of the primary pollutants of wildfire smoke) at hazardous levels, it's recommended that everyone stay indoors. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention explains it is important for everyone to limit their exposure to wildfire smoke, regardless of health status. While anyone can experience irritation to their eyes, nose, throat, and lungs, certain groups of people are at an increased risk of harmful health risks.

Fortunately, there are several steps you can take to prevent wildfire smoke exposure. These include closing windows and setting up a portable air cleaner or filter.

If you must go outside, consider wearing a respirator or mask to limit the number of particles you breathe in. If you have heart or lung disease, ask your healthcare provider if it is safe to wear one. Also, know that respirators aren't technically approved for young kids and may not adequately protect them.

While these steps won't eliminate your exposure to wildfire smoke, they'll significantly reduce it.

What you should plan in case of wildfires and smoke

As a Colorado resident and mom, I'm no stranger to the importance of having a plan for wildfires and heavy smoke. Here's what our family keeps ready in case we have to leave quickly:

• Copies of important documents such as marriage certificates, birth certificates, social security cards, passports, vaccine records for pets, wills, etc. I keep these in zip-lock, waterproof bags inside of a small fireproof safe (and just FYI — most will melt to an extent in a fire and aren't foolproof).
• I store a bag packed with a change of clothes for each family member, non-perishable snacks, water bottles, diapers, and wipes.
• I also include extra chargers for phones and tablets in our to-go bag.
• I try to keep the gas tank from getting below half full, especially during days with high fire risk.
• A basic first aid kit that includes acetaminophen and ibuprofen for kids and adults.
• We keep prescription meds in one place so they are easy to grab if we need to leave quickly.
• During high-fire risk days, I portion out a few days of food for our pets in case we needed to leave quickly and bring them with us.

And regarding pets, some shelters don't allow animals to come along. So if time allows, check ahead to see if your furry friends are welcome where you plan to stay — whether it's a hotel, a friend or family member's house, or a shelter. If you have larger animals, like horses, know before a wildfire event where you'll go. Often local fairgrounds will house farm animals in an emergency.

Ideas for inside activities for families

Sometimes the fire is far away, and the smoke causes problems, similar to what's happening in New York. While he's not officially diagnosed, our doctor suspects one of our toddler twins has asthma.

He's no stranger to needing an inhaler and is sensitive to poor air quality. We don't set strict limits on what particulate level means we stay inside, but we watch how his body responds to being outside. And if it looks especially hazy or I can't see the mountains, we stay inside.

So for days that we're stuck inside due to smoke, this is what we typically have at the ready so we're not streaming TV shows all day long:

• Lots and lots of Play-Doh
• Slime with mix-ins we tuck away for inside days
• Dance parties, Zumba, and yoga
• A list of activities that are mostly indoors, like inside playgrounds, local libraries, and our local gym
• Ingredients for pizza dough or bread that the kids can knead and get involved with.
• Supplies for an obstacle course or fort inside. Rolls of colorful masking tape can go a long way for building a hopscotch and various lines to walk or other shapes to jump between.

While there are several ways to keep kids and families entertained inside, stir craziness inevitably happens if poor air quality lingers for too long. We eventually lean into movies and TV to give everyone a break and some downtime.