Wildfire smoke leaves lung damage long after air clears

SEELEY LAKE, Mont. (AP) - A research effort to see how long it takes people to recover from living with hazardous levels of wildfire smoke for seven weeks still hasn't determined the answer.

Some residents of the western Montana town of Seeley Lake who stayed in the area during the 2017 wildfire season are participating in a University of Montana study of their lung capacity.

Researchers found that people's lung capacity declined in the first two years.

Kaiser Health News reports researchers don't know how the residents are faring this year because they could not return to Seeley Lake due to the coronavirus pandemic.