PLAINS TOWNSHIP, LUZERNE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — The Canadian wildfire smoke in NEPA isn’t as bad as it was on Wednesday, but it’s still having an impact on area residents’ daily activities.
While NEPA is experiencing some relief, many people eyewitness news spoke with are staying inside to exercise as local gyms are packed with patrons.
Jenna smith, duryea
“no smoke is gonna stop me from getting here, no matter what.”
Fitness enthusiasts like jenna smith packed danko’s all american fitness in plains township.
Smoke from the canadian wildfires is bringing many people indoors for their workouts due to the unhealthy air quality conditions.
“the smoke outside hasn’t had much of an impact on my workouts because i mainly workout inside, but i can imagine that it is bringing a lot of people into the gym because they can’t do as much stuff outside, like they mainly do like a lot of people play basketball outside, go running, hiking, so a lot of them are gonna end up coming inside here so they can actually get a workout in,” smith explained.
Jeremy lee is a personal trainer and strength coach at danko’s.
He says the situation is changing the way he works with his clients for the time being.
“especially for this week, just to try and stay inside to train, especially my athletes i’ll give them workouts to do on their own and i told them just to come here if they’re doing their training on their own,” lee stated.
Duryea resident julian everitt says he noticed the gym is busier than usual, but thankfully there’s enough equipment to go around.
“sometimes i’ll go outside if it’s nice out, go for a run or just do something with friends just to get outside, get some sun, but with the smoke, you know,” everitt added.
“so you’re keeping it inside,” asked eyewitness news reporter madonna mantione. To which everitt responded, “yeah.”
Everitt says safety is always a top priority when working out, both inside the gym and out.
“just, you know, with the smoke outside, just gotta stay inside, stay safe,” everitt continued.
In nepa, air quality conditions are expected to continue to improve into friday, with little to no smoke impacts expected for the weekend
