Smoke Archives - Wildfire Today

Students at California college choked by wildfire smoke urge campus closure

Hunter BasslerSeptember 11, 2024September 11, 2024California, Safety, Smoke, WildfireLeave a comment

Many schools around San Bernardino County have closed as smoke from the nearby Line Fire blots out the sky and pollutes the air around the area.

Air quality for the area on Wednesday was recorded as “Unhealthy” at 178 PM2.5, according to AirNow. The entire county is under an air quality alert issued by the National Weather Service until Thursday morning. The fire has burned 34,729 acres and is at 14% containment as of Wednesday afternoon.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Line Fire’s evacuations for thousands hold as it burns away from San Bernardino

The hazardous conditions caused many school districts throughout the area to close for the week, including the Bear Valley Unified School District, the Redlands Unified School District, and the Rim of the World Unified School District.

California State University at San Bernardino, however, has continued to have classes, enraging thousands of students on campus.

Line Fire burning on Sept. 10 near Keller Peak. Credit: ALERTCalifornia / UC San Diego

“This fire has brought with it a surge of potential health effects, most notably to those with pre-existing respiratory issues, adding a layer of danger on top of an already dangerous situation,” a petition to close the campus, which has reached over 3,000 signatures, said. “As per the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), exposure to such particles can cause respiratory symptoms and aggravate lung and heart conditions.”

The EPA attributes numerous health effects to short-term wildfire smoke exposure, including:

Heart failure
Heart attack
Stroke
Increased risk of emergency room visits and hospital admissions
Bronchitis
Reduced lung function
Increased risk of asthma exacerbation and aggravation of other lung diseases

“It’s distressing that amidst these severe conditions, the campus remains open, forcing students and faculty members to risk their health,” the petition said. “We should not have to choose between our health and our education. Safe and quality education should not involve risking your wellbeing.”

Recent Washington Department of Ecology research found air pollution, driven by wildfire smoke, shortened life expectancy for the state’s most overburdened communities by 2.4 years. Those communities also had higher numbers of deaths from cardiovascular disease.

READ MORE: Smoke reduced life expectancy across Washington

Smoke from other wildfires in the area, including the Bridge, Airport, and Roblar fires, are also inundating the area but will also act to moderate fire activity, San Bernardino National Forest officials said Wednesday.

“Smoke from fires across the region will help moderate fire activity unless the skies clear and the smoke thins,” officials said. “That would allow for more slope and vegetation aligned runs.”

Several Brazil wildfires started by arson kill 2 people, plague nearly 50 cities

Hunter BasslerAugust 25, 2024August 25, 2024Arson, Brazil, Smoke, WildfireLeave a comment

At least two people have died and a total of 48 cities in Brazil’s State of São Paulo are under a “maximum” wildfire alert after arsonists started several fires across the state, according to government officials. More than 7,300 firefighters are working to stop the wildfires.

São Paulo State Government officials told Reuters that the two fatalities were government employees who were trying to fight one of the fires at an industrial plant in the city of Urupes. Officials did not share any further details.

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva recently posted that the Brazilian Institute of the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources determined none of the fires were started by natural causes.

“This means that there are people setting fires illegally, since all states in the country have already been warned and have prohibited the use of managed fires,” Lula’s post said. “The Federal Police will investigate and the government will work with the states to combat the fires.”

Zoom Earth, NOAA/NESDIS/STAR, GOES-East, FIRMS

São Paulo Governor Tarcísio de Freitas visited the city of Ribeirão Preto Sunday, one of the areas most affected by wildfires in the state. There, he announced the state government has partnered with Brazil’s military to increase airdrops throughout the state.

“In addition to three Military Police helicopters already involved in the operation, the Brazilian Air Force has sent a KC-390 aircraft and two helicopters to help combat the fires. Another 28 heavy vehicles, including Fire Department trucks, are being sent to the city,” the state government’s website said.

Brazil Environment Minister Marina Silva pleaded with arsonists to stop setting fire during a government meeting on Sunday, saying government resources can only fight the flames for so long.

“Even if the federal government and state governments put all their forces into fighting fires, people need to stop setting fires, otherwise they will harm the health and lives of people and animals,” Silva said, according to Lula. “This is an appeal we make.”

Governor goes to Ribeirão Preto where he leads mobilization against fires — Photo: Vinicus Rosa/ Government of the State of São Paulo

The southern area of Brazil isn’t the only region in the nation plagued by fire. The Pantanal in Brazil’s northern region is considered the world’s largest tropical wetland area and one of the most important areas of freshwater in the world. It has also seen an extremely busy wildfire season, with the repeated fires leaving the environment in a state of constant recovery — and nearby communities struggling.

READ MORE: World’s largest tropical wetland burned this year

Wildfires across South America increased in both intensity and frequency through the second half of July. The continent’s highest wildfire activity so far this year was in Bolivia and areas of the Brazilian Amazon. Brazilian authorities also estimated this was the worst July in two decades with more than 22,000 active wildfires. Wildfire increases occurred around two weeks earlier than usual during fire season in the region, which historically has peaked in August and September.

CAMS4

California put wine industry profits above farmworker safety during 2020 wildfires, study finds

Hunter BasslerAugust 17, 2024August 17, 2024Research, Safety, Smoke, WildfireLeave a comment

Wildfires burned more than 429,000 acres of land in California’s Sonoma County in 2020. The LNU Lightning Complex and the Glass Fire destroyed 1,500 structures and burned numerous grape vineyards.

A new study found during those fires, the county’s government prioritized the county’s wine industry profits over the lives of the people working those fields.

Researchers from the University of California – Irvine and the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado, recently published a study in the GeoHealth scientific journal that focused on the safety protections for farmworkers and the effectiveness of air monitoring in Sonoma County. The study found that farmworkers were exposed to high pollution levels from nearby wildfires while being excluded from mandated evacuation zones.

By Dripwoods – Taken of the Hennessey Fire, CC BY-SA 4.0

RELATED: Will fire be the death of California’s wine industry?

“Wildfires prompted Sonoma County’s businesses and government to prioritize the wine industry by advocating for initiatives that may put farmworkers’ lives at risk,” the researchers found.

Those initiatives included the adoption of an Agricultural Pass program, which allows farm bosses to apply for permits which allowed farmworkers to keep harvesting crops in mandatory evacuation zones during wildfires.

The study found 96 Agricultural Pass program applications were submitted during the Glass Fire, including 120 worksites and 633 workers. Another 370 permits were submitted during the LNU Lightning Complex yielded 370 permits and included 590 worksites and 1,603 workers. Researchers also said the exact number of workers for each permit is unreliable because of mismatches between permits and the absence of worker counts on some permits.

“Given the program’s lack of oversight, inconsistencies with state-level emergency protocols, and insufficient monitoring of hazardous air quality in the impacted regions, there is a need to further analyze the risks, health impacts, and structural inequalities the program imposes on farmworkers, in particular those who are undocumented,” the study said.

The researchers suggested a variety of policy changes in regards to their findings, including:

Mandatory Employer Emergency Plans and Emergency Training
Clear Protocols on Identifying Workers and Locations
Real-Time Monitoring of Air Quality
Hazard Pay
Post-Exposure Health Screenings
Post-Incident Accountability and Data Accuracy

Another study conducted in late 2023 found wildfire smoke could be much more toxic than officials previously believed.

Researchers from Stanford University studied soil from the LNU Complex and the 2019 Kincade Fire, finding wildfires can create cancer-causing toxic heavy metals depending on where they burn and the severity of the flames. At the burn scars, the team measured the levels of chromium 6, which is known by most as the toxic chemical from the 2000 film Erin Brockovich, and they found dangerous levels of it in certain areas of the fire.

“Up until now, for wildfires at least, we’ve worried a lot about the fine particulate exposure … what we’ve been blind to is that those ultra-fine particles can differ in composition,” researcher Scott Fendorf previously told WildfireToday. “Even in wildfires that are completely removed from any dwellings, with certain geologies and certain vegetation types which are pretty common, we can see that the particles have these toxic metals in them.”

READ MORE: Wildfire smoke toxicity worsened by heavy metals in soil, flame intensity

WILDLAND FIRE CANADA: Conference registration now open

Guest WriterJuly 1, 2024SmokeCanada, New Brunswick, smoke

Registration is open for the 2024 Wildland Fire Canada Conference, a biennial conference scheduled for October 28 to November 1 in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada. It will bring together wildland fire management agencies, indigenous fire experts, scientists, and collaborators from across Canada and other countries.

The theme of this year’s conference is Transforming Wildland Fire Management, i.e. taking a collective and inclusive approach to wildland fire management in which Canadians at all levels of government work together to co-exist with wildland fire — including prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery.

Registration rates (CAD):

Early registration (until 8/15) — $600
Registration (8/16 – 10/14) — $750
Late registration (10/14 – 10/28) — $800
Student registration — $250
One-day rate — $375
Virtual Registration — $300

Group registration available for virtual tickets:

- - - - $300/ticket for fewer than 5 tickets
        
        $250/ticket for 6-10 tickets
        
        $200/ticket for 11-20 tickets
        
        $150/ticket for 20+ tickets

In-person registration: This includes access to all sessions and social activities. Registrants can access to the virtual conference platform to watch recorded presentations and network with remote attendees.

Virtual registration: This includes access to all sessions and online networking activities. Sessions will be recorded and made available for at least 6 months after the conference. You will receive access details about a week before the conference.

Join us in late October either in New Brunswick or online — or both — for this exciting collaboration with Canadian professionals and other international wildland fire experts!

Siberian wildfire smoke increases could cause thousands of deaths, billions in costs for East Asia

Hunter BasslerJune 21, 2024Smoke, UncategorizedJapan, Siberia, smoke

A team from Japan’s Hokkaido University’s research study recently uncovered worrying findings for residents across East Asia. The team looked into the increasing frequency of wildfires in Siberia, and the growing threat of smoke that Japan and other areas downwind of Siberia are forced to breathe.

Previous studies have confirmed wildfires are becoming more common in Arctic biomes across the globe, including Siberia. A 2022 USFS study found wildfires in Siberia tripled from the 2001 – 2010 period to the 2011 – 2020 period. The area burned by wildfires in Siberia also increased by a factor of 2.6 during the same period.

“We found that annual fire frequency and the extent of burnt areas were related to various combinations of seasonal air temperature, precipitation, ground moisture, and lightning frequency,” the 2022 study said. “Increased wildfire and loss of permafrost may threaten ongoing settlement and industrialization, particularly for western Siberia.”

But the wildfires have implications for residents in numerous areas other than Siberia. The Hokkaido University researchers used global climate simulation models to evaluate how the expected increase in wildfires, and wildfire smoke, will affect people downwind of Siberia.

The researchers found smoke from Siberia’s wildfires releases aerosols, or air pollution particles that reflect sunlight away from the earth’s surface, which greatly degrades air quality, leading to a drastic increase in air pollution, possibly thousands of deaths, and billions of dollars in economic losses, including upwards of:

- - - 70,000 deaths and $80 billion in losses across China
    - 32,000 deaths and $100 billion in losses in Japan
    - 4,000 deaths and $20 billion in losses in South Korea

“Despite the limitations of our study, our findings provide readers with a critical message on the effect of increased particulate matter caused by Siberian wildfires on climate and air quality as well as mortality and the economy under present and future atmospheric conditions,” the researchers said. “Future studies must aim to prevent air pollution emissions from Siberian wildfires and take further preventive measures in the future under ongoing and future climate changes.”

Read the full study here.

Smoke temporarily covered nearly all U.S. lakes between 2019 and 2021

Hunter BasslerJune 10, 2024Smokeaquatic habitat, lakes, smoke

As wildfire activity and severity increase globally, so too does the pervasiveness of wildfire smoke.

Researchers in the U.S. are working to find out how growing amounts of wildfire smoke nationwide affect ecosystems including aquatic habitats. A recent study published in the Global Change Biology research journal found that even smoke impacts lake ecology.

“An incredible 98.9 percent of lakes experienced at least 10 smoke-days a year, with 89.6 percent of lakes receiving over 30 lake smoke-days, and lakes in some regions experiencing up to 4 months of cumulative smoke-days,” the study said.

The term “smoke-days” describes the number of days on which any portion of a lake’s boundary intersected with smoke as defined by NOAA’s hazard mapping system daily smoke product. The smoke-days concept has been used previously to demonstrate smoke exposure by ecoregion, but was used specifically for lakes for the first time in this study.

Smoke and ash from wildfires lower the solar radiation that enters lake habitats, affecting organisms in numerous ways from physiology to behavior, according to the research. Particles from the smoke deposited within lake ecosystems can also affect several biological and geological processes, including the availability and cycling of various nutrients.

Less than 0.01 percent of land in North America burned between 2019 and 2021, but the area covered in smoke was 75 percent of the continent’s total land. The year 2021 marked the largest number of high-density lake smoke-days and is the year with the largest portion of the country burned and largest area covered with smoke, while 2020 had the lowest number of high-density smoke-days and the smallest area burned and smallest area covered with smoke.

“Large knowledge gaps impede our ability to predict and manage the responses of lakes to smoke and ash,” the researchers concluded. “Measuring the extent and effects of smoke and ash deposition remains challenging. Larger-scale studies are necessary to disentangle the mediating effects of scale and watershed context on the responses of lakes to smoke and ash deposition.”

Read the entire study here.

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