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GREENSBORO — Pleasant Garden resident Tammy Smith said she tries not to go outside very much during this time of year.

But Smith, who works in downtown Greensboro and has asthma, was especially concerned Friday as a smoky haze drifted through the region, a by-product of the eastern North Carolina wildfire that's burned more than 40,000 acres so far.

"It's horrible," Smith said, adding that she was in Raleigh the night before, when the Triangle was hit with the same smoke that later hovered over the Triad.

"I know it flared (my asthma) up, because it started last night," she said.

The Triad reached a Code Red air quality alert Friday, meaning the particle pollution level was well above the standard set by the Environmental Protection Agency for healthy air.

Adding to the problem were ozone levels nearing Code Orange status, which is one below red. Ozone is created from a chemical reaction triggered by sunlight. Particle pollution, on the other hand, is like a fine dust in the air.

"That's like a double-whammy," Jason Bodenhamer , environmental specialist with the Forsyth County Environmental Affairs Division, said.

Bodenhamer said a front coming through with shifting winds and possible thunderstorms should drop both factors to a yellow status by today. Under yellow, unusually sensitive people should avoid prolonged outdoor activity.

In Code Red, certain groups, such as pregnant women, children, the elderly and people who work outside, are advised to stay indoors or limit their outdoor activity. And everyone should avoid strenuous activity outdoors.

Levels were dropping, albeit slowly, by midafternoon Friday. Postal delivery worker Quintin Bethea, who has no relief from air pollution in his open-air truck, wasn't very concerned as he delivered mail Friday afternoon.

"You can't smell it that much now," he said. "It's just hazy outside."

Calls start pouring in

Bodenhamer said the Environmental Affairs Division has been trying to spread the word about the source of the smoke.

"Other areas in our department have been flooded with calls with people concerned about the smoke, thinking it's somebody burning brush a mile away," he said. "And it's really 230-some miles away."

David Douglas, Greensboro's assistant fire chief, said the department started receiving calls reporting smoke Thursday afternoon and that the calls picked up Friday morning. The department dispatched resources in response to two of those calls and found nothing, he said.

By 11 a.m. Friday, 911 operators were screening the calls, he said.

"If people are not reporting that they see smoke coming out of the building or they see flames, then we're not dispatching the calls," Douglas said.

Greensboro resident Daniel Green said he suspected a fire somewhere near when he smelled the smoky air Friday morning.

He was surprised to hear the source was wildfires in the east. "I didn't know it could drift that far," he said.

Trainees burn church

Compounding some residents' concerns was a controlled fire-training exercise at Lakeview Baptist Church, 4010 S. Elm-Eugene St.

The burn began at 8 a.m. Friday and was done by 12:30 p.m., said Greensboro Fire Capt. Mike Carlson.

Carlson said the department monitors ozone levels to determine if such a training exercise can take place but doesn't take into account the particle pollution caused by the wildfires.

"This morning at 6 o'clock the ozone level was at yellow," he said, which is an acceptable level.

Carlson said the department did receive one complaint about the exercise but said the burn didn't contribute to the poor air quality.

"When we burn, 3,000 degrees of heat will take it way up into the atmosphere," he said. "By the time it cools, it's not going to come back down."

Staff writer Dioni L. Wise contributed to this report.

Contact Kavita Pillai at 373-7157 or kavita.pillai@news-record.com