Last year's wildfire season was truly wild — more than 6,500 fires in Canada from May to October. Air quality in Alberta, Canada, was nine times worse than usual, and it had far-reaching effects on air quality in the lower 48 states and parts of Alaska.

And more than 7,000 wildfires in California added to the dangerous air pollution.

This year, as fire season progresses we can anticipate some pretty polluted days from the West to the East coast. And wildfire smoke can cause health risks hundreds or thousands of miles away from its original source.

The tiny, toxic PM2.5 microparticles carried in the smoke make their way into your lungs and bloodstream, causing asthma, coughing, phlegm, wheezing, and difficulty breathing, and can trigger heart attack, stroke, heart failure, dementia, and premature death.

A new study in the journal Science Advances estimates that around 54,000 people in California alone died prematurely from 2008 to 2018 because of exposure to particulate matter in wildfire smoke. And the number keeps adding up as the fires increase.

What can you do to protect yourself from particulates that cause these inflammatory diseases?

Wear N95 or KN95 masks and/or respirators when outside in wildfire-polluted air. Use HEPA air filters indoors to keep your home safe. Don't exercise outdoors when there are air quality alerts.

You can check also local air quality using the Air Quality Index (AQI) at airnow.gov. And remember to protect pets too.