SMOKE MASKS AND FILTERS: What you need to know

MEDFORD, Ore. — The smoke has made its way into the Rogue Valley and it’s only becoming denser, but there are things you can do to start protecting yourself now.

N95 masks are your first choice. Health officials say they’re the best bang for your buck when it comes to filtering out bad particles as you breathe. You’ll find them labeled as both generic or with a soft seal.

“It actually has a silicone seal around the mask,” said Blackbird Hardware Buyer Tanner Quitt, “so it really gets on your face and nothing really gets inside.”

NBC5 News asked the experts at Blackbird about what people can do in their homes; they said installing an A/C filter that cleans out smoke is one of the simplest things you can do to protect yourself. You can install the filter as you would any air filter, you can also put one on the backside of a fan, so it filters out the air that’s pulled in.

With the influx in sales for masks and filters, retailers suggest you make your purchases as early as you can before they run out.