Ironman Lake Placid Race Director Greg Borzilleri poses Monday morning, July 17 after watching crews put up tents for the Sunday, July 23 event at the Olympic Speedskating Oval. Behind him, haze from Canadian wildfires mask the High Peaks, which can normally be seen on a clear day. The Air Quality Index at the time was 130. Ironman officials are monitoring the air quality for the race to make sure it is safe for the athletes. (News photo — Andy Flynn)

LAKE PLACID — Ironman Lake Placid officials are closely monitoring the Air Quality Index for the triathlon on Sunday, July 23, especially after the haze from Canadian wildfires caused the cancellation of Ironman’s 70.3 race in Mont-Tremblant, Quebec, four weeks ago.

“As long as the wind comes from the south, I think we’ll be in good shape,” Ironman Lake Placid Race Director Greg Borzilleri said Monday, July 17 as he watched crews putting up tents on the Olympic Speedskating Oval.

In the distance on Monday, the High Peaks — including Algonquin Peak and Mount Colden — could not be seen as the haze blanketed the Adirondacks. New York state officials at the departments of Environmental Conservation and Health issued air quality advisories Monday and Tuesday. The Air Quality Index while Borzilleri was watching the tent crews at the Oval on Monday morning was 130, which is considered unhealthy for sensitive groups, according to the the Environmental Protection Agency’s AirNow.gov.

When outdoor AQI levels are elevated, going indoors may reduce exposure, according to the DEC. If there are significant indoor sources of smoke — such as tobacco, candle or incense smoke, or fumes from cooking — levels inside may not be lower than outside.

Some ways to reduce exposure are to minimize outdoor and indoor sources and avoid strenuous activities in areas where fine particle concentrations are high.

On June 25, the Ironman 70.3 race in Mont-Tremblant was canceled while about 3,700 triathletes were in line to start the half-Ironman: 1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike and 13.1-mile run. News of the cancellation was shared on the official Ironman website, according to CTV News in Montreal:

“Ironman has strict safety benchmarks in place for air quality, which have not been met and the forecast does not suggest the AQI (air quality index) will improve throughout the day. It is always our priority to ensure the safety of our participants, spectators, volunteers, staff, and all others that are involved in the event.”

Borzilleri said the weather changed as the athletes were at the start line, and the race was called off.

“We hope that doesn’t happen (in Lake Placid),” he said.

Of all the safety issues Ironman officials have to worry about — from the 2.4-mile swim on Mirror Lake to the 112-mile bike and 26.2-mile run on local roads and highways — monitoring the air quality is new to the Lake Placid race.

The sky around Mirror Lake in the village of Lake Placid was hazy Monday, July 17. Smoke from Canadian wildfires prompted New York state government officials to issue air quality advisories on Monday and Tuesday. (News photo — Andy Flynn)

“You know what it’s like,” Borzilleri said. “The weather here changes every 20 minutes so you never know, so it doesn’t even make any sense to worry about it.”

Dave Christen, Ironman’s regional race director, said race officials at Mont-Tremblant used government resources — different air quality stations in the region — to help monitor the Air Quality Index and guage the safety for athletes.

“We watch those in coordination with our health professionals that manage our event as well as the local health authorities that make those decisions in unison as to what we do with the event,” Christen said Monday. “Right now, we do expect there to be — as you’re experiencing today — compromised air quality. But we do see that improving throughout the week.

Ironman officials are monitoring the air quality in the Adirondack region daily, according to Christen.

“We will always make the best decision for what is best for our athletes, for our athletes, and for our volunteers and everybody that is involved,” he said.

Samantha Davies, of Tupper Lake, will be competing in the Ironman Lake Placid race on Sunday. She’s adapted to the poor air quality this spring and summer while training for the triathlon.

“It hasn’t had a huge impact,” she said. “The couple of days it’s been bad, I can usually bike inside. I have a treadmill if I have to use it. I go to the pool in Lake Placid.”

Davies isn’t concerned about the air quality for Sunday’s race.

“I think there are enough thunderstorms this week that it will be fine by race day,” she said.

The Ironman 70.3 race in Mont-Tremblant was rescheduled for Aug. 20.

CTV News reported on Tuesday that 79 wildfires were burning in the zone north of the 51st parallel in Quebec, with 11 considered out of control. The provincial forest fire prevention agency — Societe de protection des forets contre le feu (SOPFEU) — reported Tuesday that fires have burned more than 2.8 million hectares of forest, which is about 6.9 million acres. By comparison, the Adirondack Park is 6 million acres, about the size of Vermont.

In all of Canada, there were 907 active fires still raging on Monday, with 587 considered “out of control,” according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre.

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Air Quality Index basics

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The Air Quality Index, according to the the Environmental Protection Agency’s AirNow.gov, is rated by color.

– Green — Good (0-50): Air quality is satisfactory, and air pollution poses little or no risk.

– Yellow — Moderate (51-100): Air quality is acceptable. However, there may be a risk for some people, particularly those who are unusually sensitive to air pollution.

– Orange — Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups (101-150): Members of sensitive groups may experience health effects. The general public is less likely to be affected.

– Red — Unhealthy (151-200): Some members of the general public may experience health effects; members of sensitive groups may experience more serious health effects.

– Purple — Very Unhealthy (201-300): Health alert: The risk of health effects is increased for everyone.

– Maroon — Hazardous (301 and higher): Health warning of emergency conditions: everyone is more likely to be affected.