#wildfiresmoke — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #wildfiresmoke, aggregated by home.social.
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'Dangerous' air quality in Detroit, Minneapolis as thick wildfire smoke shrouds the sky for millions
Smoke from wildfires burning in Ontario have caused air quality to reach "dangerous" levels across Canada, and the northeastern and midwestern United States. And it could get worse before conditions improve.
By Brian Lada, AccuWeather meteorologist
Published Jul 15, 2026 11:50 AM EDT | Updated Jul 16, 2026
" Massive plumes of smoke are descending across parts of Canada and the United States, creating dangerous air quality and scenes reminiscent of the historic wildfire smoke outbreak from three summers ago.
" 'In 2023, a major fire outbreak in Quebec caused days of unhealthy air quality in the northeastern U.S.,' AccuWeather Vice President of Forecast Operations Dan DePodwin said. 'This event could cause similar levels of poor air quality in spots.'
"Air quality alerts have been issued for millions of people, including across all of #Connecticut, #Delaware, #Massachusetts, #Michigan, #NewHampshire, #NewJersey, #NewYork, #Ohio, #Pennsylvania, #RhodeIsland and #Wisconsin.
"Over 800 wildfires are currently burning across Canada, including dozens that are out of control across western #Ontario, the source of most of the smoke. 'Many of these fires may have been started by lightning,' AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Brett Anderson said.
"On Wednesday, #Toronto had some of the worst air quality in North America, reaching 'very unhealthy' levels with an AQI of 220. #BostonMA was not far behind with an unhealthy AQI of 147.
" 'When the AQI climbs into the 150+ range for a full day outside, that’s in the ballpark of [smoking] 7 to 9 cigarettes,' Dr. Jonathan M. Tan, division chief of General Anesthesiology at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, told AccuWeather.
"Conditions deteriorated by Thursday morning, with widespread "dangerous" air quality across nearly all the Great Lakes region and into parts of the Northeast. Minneapolis and Duluth, Minnesota, as well as Detroit, were among the worst cities at daybreak Thursday, with AQIs over 340.
" 'Any exposure to the air, even for a few minutes, can lead to serious health effects on everybody,' Plume Labs said.
Avoid outdoor activities.' "#CanadianWildfires #CRBox #AirQuality
#WildfireSmoke #AQI #HEPAFilters #CorsiRosenthalBox #AirCleaners #Masks #ParticulateMatter #RespiratorMasks #StayIndoors #HazardousAir #AirQualityAlert -
Canadian #wildfire smoke turns air hazardous in the US #Midwest. Officials say stay inside
By TAMMY WEBBER and PHILIP MARCELO, July 16, 2026
NEW YORK (AP) — "Heavy, pungent smoke from #CanadianWildfires darkened skies in the U.S. on Thursday from the #GreatLakes to parts of the #EastCoast, reducing visibility for commuters and prompting warnings that air quality could make being outside dangerous.
"#Detroit’s air quality was among the worst in the world for major cities, as a lingering high pressure system trapped smoke from dozens of fires in Canada and northern Minnesota, said Steven Freitag, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Pontiac, Michigan.
" 'Sure enough, it arrived in force here and it’s really pretty extreme levels,' said Freitag, who noted that visibility in some areas was reduced to a half mile.
"Omar Mitchell wore a mask as he walked to his restaurant in Detroit. He said he urged his employees to do the same.
" 'It’s scary,' Mitchell, 50, said as he looked at the sky. 'You don’t know necessarily what the side effects may be. That’s days or months later.'
"Cities across the Great Lakes states registered air quality ranging from unhealthy to hazardous — which means it’s unhealthy for anyone, regardless of health conditions. Microscopic particles can lodge deep in the lungs and enter the bloodstream, leading to heart and lung problems and contributing to other long-term health issues.
"All of #Michigan and much of #Minnesota were under a hazardous #AirQualityAlert. In the Chicago area, air quality ranged from very unhealthy to hazardous.
"National Weather Service meteorologist Jake Petr said even if winds from the northwest clear skies as expected later this week, the smoky air could keep returning until the fires are out. That could take weeks or longer.
" 'Anytime we have something that could bring air from that region until the fires are over, it could conceivably dip back into the area,' Petr said.
"In #SaintPaulMN, the air was 'glowing yellow,' said Brent Williams, head of the soil, water and climate department at the University of Minnesota, who said the area 'could be looking at weeks to months of continued smoke and flare-ups off and on as the winds blow in different directions.'
"A study published this year found that long-term exposure to tiny particles from wildfire smoke contributed to an average of 24,100 deaths a year in the lower 48 states. Long-term exposure can make existing health problems worse and lead to a range of chronic and deadly health issues, including respiratory illness, cardiovascular and neurological diseases, and premature death."
https://apnews.com/article/canada-wildfires-smoke-us-ae4b2bd09a97919a081e26ede6a6d355
#CRBox #AirQuality #WildfireSmoke #AQI #HEPAFilters #CorsiRosenthalBox #AirCleaners #Masks #ParticulateMatter #RespiratorMasks #StayIndoors #ThanksBigOil
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Unfortunately, #WildfireSmoke has been affecting regions across Canada. 🔥💨 Use discount code “Wildfire20” for 20% off 3M Aura 1870+ respirators. It’s going to be a long summer, so stay kind, keep cool and #WearAmask. ☀️😷🧋
https://buymask.ca/products/3m-aura-particulate-respirator-1870-n95
https://firesmoke.ca/forecasts/current -
#WildfireSmoke is affecting many regions around Canada. 🔥💨 Without collective action to address climate change, we are left with individual mitigations, such as respirator masks. 😷
Find masks and other supplies in our Wildfire Smoke Protection Products collection at https://buymask.ca/collections/wildfire-smoke-protection.
#Ready4Smoke #StillMasking #WildfireSeason #Wildfires #MaskUp
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Don’t wait for the sky to turn orange. Select respirator masks and clean air supplies are on #sale at Donate A Mask’s fundraising store until May 23. 🎉 Breathe easier and save! 😷💨
🛒 https://buymask.ca/collections/wildfire-smoke-protection
#CleanAir #Ready4Smoke #CanadianWildfires #WildfireSmoke #Wildfires
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Already own a QT3 Portable Air Purifier but need a new HEPA filter? 💨 We’ve got you covered.
QT3 HEPA Filters (2 pack) are on sale for $34.99 until May 23. Order yours today! ⏰
🛍 https://buymask.ca/collections/wildfire-smoke-protection
#QT3filter #HEPA #Ready4Smoke #WildfireSeason #WildfireSmoke
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Do you wear disposable respirator masks? Switch to the Dentec Comfort-Air Respirator (N95 or P100) and save! 💨 😷
The Dentec is reusable and the filters last a long time. Even better, the Dentec is on sale#canadianwildfires
https://buymask.ca/collections/wildfire-smoke-protection
#Sale #Ready4Smoke #WildfireSeason #WildfireSmoke #MaskUp #CleanAir #CanadianWildfires
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Prefer earloop respirators? We’ve got you covered. The Vitacore Adult CAN99e Earloop Respirator is made in Canada. 😷
Get 10 white masks for $11.99 or 10 black masks for $14.99. 🎉
Don’t miss out! Sale ends May 23. ⏰
🛒 https://buymask.ca/collections/wildfire-smoke-protection
#BlackMasks #MadeInCanada #Ready4Smoke #WildfireSeason #CanadianWildfires #WildfireSmoke #Vitacore
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eed new filters for your Corsi-Rosenthal box? 💨 Donate A Mask has a 12-pack of Replacement MERV-13 Filters - AAF Flanders on sale for $299.99.
Get ready for #WildfireSmoke. Pick up a 12-pack today! Sale ends May 23. ⏰
🛍 https://buymask.ca/collections/wildfire-smoke-protection
#Ready4Smoke #MERV13 #CRBox #CanadianWildfire #WildfireSeason #AirQuality #CleanAir
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Clean the air without breaking the bank. 💨🏦 Pick up a DIY Corsi-Rosenthal Kit and build your own Corsi-Rosenthal Box for only $199.99. 🎉
Hurry! Sale ends May 23. ⏰
🛒 https://buymask.ca/collections/wildfire-smoke-protection
#WildfireSmoke #CanadianWildfires #WildfireSeason #CRBox #DIY #Ready4Smoke
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Starting May 11, select respirator masks and clean air supplies will be on sale at Donate A Mask’s fundraising store. 🛍
Wildfire smoke will be here before you know it. 💨
Shop the sale to prepare: https://buymask.ca
#Sale #Ready4Smoke #CanadianWildfires #WildfireSeason #WildfireSmoke #MaskUp #AirQuality
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Air Quality Alerts Issued Across US States Amid Rising Pollution Levels
Millions in US states received warnings for hazardous air quality in June/July 2025. Learn why you should stay indoors and keep windows closed.
#AirQualityAlert, #USWeather, #EPA, #WildfireSmoke, #PublicHealth
https://newsletter.tf/how-dangerous-air-quality-alerts-affect-millions-in-us-states/
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From earthquakes to wildfires, Canada is woefully ill-prepared for disasters
#Canada #Disasters #Wildfires #Earthquakes #ClimateRisk #Infrastructure #PublicSafety #UrbanPlanning #Politics #ClimateChange #WildfireSmoke #DisasterReadiness #CrisisResponse
https://the-14.com/from-earthquakes-to-wildfires-canada-is-woefully-ill-prepared-for-disasters/ -
Sunny but #hazy as #WildfireSmoke returns to #Maine Sunday
An #AirQuality Alert is in place for Sunday.
Emily Pike, August 2, 2025
"Sunday morning lows in the 50s and 60s, with highs in the 70s to 80s. Skies will be mostly sunny, but Canadian wildfire smoke will bring a thick haze for the higher elevations. An Air Quality Alert is in effect Sunday.
"An #AirQualityAlert is in effect from 1 AM to 11 PM on Sunday, August 3, 2025, for parts of #Maine and #NewHampshire due to expected high levels of #ParticlePollution.
"The Maine Department of Environmental Protection has issued the alert for the Western and Eastern Interior regions of the state, including areas in #Franklin, #Somerset, #York, Cumberland, #Androscoggin, and #Kennebec counties. The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services has issued a similar alert for #Coos, #Grafton, and #Carroll counties.
"Air quality is expected to reach levels that are considered 'Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups' due to a plume of smoke moving in from Canada.
"Those most at risk include children, older adults, people with respiratory conditions such as asthma, bronchitis, or emphysema, and anyone who is physically active outdoors. Even healthy individuals may experience mild symptoms and should consider limiting strenuous or prolonged outdoor activity during this time.
"High pressure is keeping things dry and sunny, which may allow the smoke to linger into next week, thickening into Monday.
"Looking Ahead: Maine is off to a dry start this August. Without significant rainfall soon, #drought conditions could develop, potentially affecting #crops and increasing #FireRisk.
"The 8-day forecast shows only a few chances for showers and slightly below-average temperatures, mainly in the 70s to 80s."
Source:
https://www.wmtw.com/article/sunny-but-hazy-as-wildfire-smoke-returns-to-maine-sunday/65581788#ClimateDiary #ClimateDiaryMaine #MaineWx #NewEnglandWx #WildfireSmoke #Hazy #ClimateChangeWeatherWheel
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The smoke from #Canada’s #wildfires may be even more #toxic than usual
A legacy of #mining means that #ToxicMetals could be carried along plumes of smoke.
by Matt Simon, June 5, 2025
"More than 200 wildfires are blazing across central and western Canada, half of which are out of control because they’re so hard for crews to access, forcing 27,000 people to evacuate. Even those nowhere near the wildfires are suffering as smoke swirls around Canada and wafts south, creating hazardous air quality all over the midwestern and eastern parts of the United States. The smoke is even reaching Europe.
"As the climate changes, the far north is drying and warming, which means wildfires are getting bigger and more intense. The area burned in Canada is now the second largest on record for this time of year, trailing behind the brutal wildfire season of 2023. That year, the amount of #carbon blazed into the atmosphere was about three times the country’s #FossilFuel emissions. And the more carbon that’s emitted from wildfires — in Canada and elsewhere — the faster the #PlanetaryWarming, and the worse the fires.
" 'There’s obviously the #ClimateFeedback concern,' said Mike Waddington, an environmental scientist at McMaster University in Ontario who studies Canada’s forests. 'But increasingly we’re also concerned about the smoke.'
"That’s because there’s much more to wildfire smoke than charred sticks and leaves, especially where these blazes are burning in Canada. The country’s #forests have long been #mined, operations that loaded #soils and #waterways with #ToxicMetals like #lead and #mercury, especially before clean-air standards kicked in 50 years ago. Now everyone downwind of these wildfires may have to contend with that legacy and those pollutants, in addition to all the other nasties inherent in #WildfireSmoke, which are known to exacerbate respiratory and cardiac problems.
" 'You have there the burning of these organic soils resulting in a lot of carbon and a lot of #ParticulateMatter,' said Waddington. 'Now you have this triple whammy, where you have the metals #remobilized in addition to that.'
"What exactly is lurking in the smoke from Canadian wildfires will require further testing by scientists. But an area of particular concern is around the mining city of #FlinFlon, in #ManitobaCanada, which is known to have elevated levels of toxic metals in the landscape, said Colin McCarter, an environmental scientist who studies pollutants at Ontario’s #NipissingUniversity. Flin Flon’s 5,000 residents have been evacuated as a wildfire approaches, though so far no structures have been destroyed.
"But a fire doesn’t need to directly burn mining operations to mobilize toxicants. For example, in #Yellowknife, in Canada’s #NorthwestTerritories, #GoldMining operations between 1934 and 2004 spread #arsenic as far as 18 miles away, adding to a landscape with an already high concentration of naturally occurring arsenic. In a paper published last year, Waddington and McCarter estimated that between 1972 and 2023, wildfires around Yellowknife fired up to 840,000 pounds of arsenic into the atmosphere. Arsenic is a known carcinogen associated with cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and developmental problems, according to the World Health Organization. (After the 2023 #LahainaFire in Maui, officials reported elevated levels of arsenic, lead, and other toxic substances in ash samples. California officials also found lots of lead in smoke from 2018’s #CampFire.)"
Source:
https://grist.org/climate/canada-wildfire-smoke-toxic-arsenic/?utm_source=firefox-newtab-en-us#WaterIsLife #SoilIsLife #AirIsLife #Mining #ToxicLegacy #FirstNations #Canada #Pollution #Worldwide #AQI #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis #ClimateCatastrophe #AirQualityIndex
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Not just human health! The #Toxic Blend of LA’s Urban #WildfireSmoke Will Have Lasting Health Consequences
Los Angeles residents are breathing bits of "cars, metal pipes, plastics."
By Zoya Teirstein, January 22, 2025“These fires are different from previous quote-unquote ‘wildfires,’ because there are so many structures that burned,” said Yifang Zhu, a professor of environmental health sciences at the University of California, Los Angeles. 'Everything in the households got burned — cars, metal pipes, plastics.'
"#Wildfiresmoke is toxic. Burning trees and shrubs produce very fine #particulatematter, known by the shorthand PM 2.5, which burrow deep into the lungs and can even infiltrate the bloodstream, causing cold- and flu-like symptoms in the short term, and heart disease, lung cancer, and other chronic issues over time.
"But the fires that raced through Los Angeles burned thousands of homes, schools, historic buildings, and even medical clinics, blanketing the city in thick smoke. For several days after the first fire started, the city’s air quality index, or #AQI, exceeded 100, the threshold, typically seen during wildfires, at which air becomes unhealthy to breathe for children, the elderly, and those with asthma. In some parts of the city, the AQI reached 500, a number rarely seen and always hazardous for everyone.
"At the moment, air pollution experts know how much smoke fills the air. That’s shown improvement in recent days. But they don’t know what’s in it. 'What are the chemical mixtures in this smoke?' asked Kai Chen, an environmental scientist at the Yale School of Public Health. 'In addition to fine particulate matter, there are potentially other hazardous and #carcinogenic organic compounds — gas pollutants, trace metals, and microplastics.'
"Previous research shows that the spikes in unhealthy air quality seen during such events lead to higher rates of hospitalizations for issues like asthma, and even contribute to heart attacks among those with that chronic disease. A 2024 study on the long-term effects of smoke exposure in California showed that particulate matter from wildfires in the state from 2008 to 2018 contributed to anywhere from 52,000 to 56,000 premature deaths. A health assessment of 148 firefighters who worked the Tubbs Fire, which burned more than 36,000 acres in Northern California in 2017 and destroyed an unusually high number of structures, found elevated levels of the #PFAS known as forever chemicals, #HeavyMetals, and flame retardants in their blood and urine.
"The L.A. County Department of Public Health has formally urged people to stay inside and wear masks to protect themselves from windblown toxic dust and ash. Air quality measurements don’t take these particles into account, which means the air quality index doesn’t reveal the extent of contaminants in the air.
"Zhu and her colleagues have been collecting samples of wildfire smoke in neighborhoods near the fires. It’ll be months before that data is fully analyzed, but Zhu suspects she will find a dangerous mix of chemicals, including, potentially, #asbestos and lead — materials used in many buildings constructed before the 1970s.
"The risk will linger even after the smoke clears. The plumes that wafted over the landscape will deposit chemicals into drinking #water supplies and #contaminate# soil. When rains do come, they’ll wash #ToxicAsh into streams and across the land, said Fernando Rosario-Ortiz, an environmental engineer and interim dean of the University of Colorado Boulder environmental engineering program. 'There’s a lot of manmade materials that are now being combusted. The potential is there for contamination,' he said, noting that little research on how toxic ash and other byproducts of wildfires in urban areas currently exists. 'What we don’t have a lot of information on is what happens now.'
"After the Camp Fire razed Paradise, California, in 2018, water utilities found high levels of volatile organic compounds [#VOCs] in #DrinkingWater. Similar issues have arisen in places like Boulder County, Colorado, where the Marshall Fire destroyed nearly 1,000 structures in 2021, Rosario-Ortiz said, though the presence of a contaminant in a home doesn’t necessarily mean it will be present in high levels in the water. Still, several municipal water agencies in Los Angeles issued preemptive advisories urging residents not to drink tap water in neighborhoods near the Palisades and Eaton fires. It’ll be weeks before they know exactly what’s in the water.
"As wildfires grow ever more intense and encroach upon urban areas, cities and counties must be prepared to monitor the health impacts and respond to them. 'This is the first time I’ve ever even witnessed or heard anything like this,' said Zhu, who raised her daughter in Los Angeles and has lived there for decades, said. 'Even being in the field studying wildfires and air quality impacts, I never imagined that a whole neighborhood, a whole community in Palisades, would burn down.'"
Read more:
https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-toxic-blend-of-las-urban-wildfire-smoke-will-have-lasting-health-consequences/?utm_source=flipboard&utm_medium=flipboard_rss&utm_campaign=znetwork
#AirPollution #WaterPollution #AirIsLife #WaterIsLife #ToxicMaterials #EnvironmentalDisaster #EnvironmentalDamage #Pyrocene #PyroceneEra -
Not just human health! The #Toxic Blend of LA’s Urban #WildfireSmoke Will Have Lasting Health Consequences
Los Angeles residents are breathing bits of "cars, metal pipes, plastics."
By Zoya Teirstein, January 22, 2025“These fires are different from previous quote-unquote ‘wildfires,’ because there are so many structures that burned,” said Yifang Zhu, a professor of environmental health sciences at the University of California, Los Angeles. 'Everything in the households got burned — cars, metal pipes, plastics.'
"#Wildfiresmoke is toxic. Burning trees and shrubs produce very fine #particulatematter, known by the shorthand PM 2.5, which burrow deep into the lungs and can even infiltrate the bloodstream, causing cold- and flu-like symptoms in the short term, and heart disease, lung cancer, and other chronic issues over time.
"But the fires that raced through Los Angeles burned thousands of homes, schools, historic buildings, and even medical clinics, blanketing the city in thick smoke. For several days after the first fire started, the city’s air quality index, or #AQI, exceeded 100, the threshold, typically seen during wildfires, at which air becomes unhealthy to breathe for children, the elderly, and those with asthma. In some parts of the city, the AQI reached 500, a number rarely seen and always hazardous for everyone.
"At the moment, air pollution experts know how much smoke fills the air. That’s shown improvement in recent days. But they don’t know what’s in it. 'What are the chemical mixtures in this smoke?' asked Kai Chen, an environmental scientist at the Yale School of Public Health. 'In addition to fine particulate matter, there are potentially other hazardous and #carcinogenic organic compounds — gas pollutants, trace metals, and microplastics.'
"Previous research shows that the spikes in unhealthy air quality seen during such events lead to higher rates of hospitalizations for issues like asthma, and even contribute to heart attacks among those with that chronic disease. A 2024 study on the long-term effects of smoke exposure in California showed that particulate matter from wildfires in the state from 2008 to 2018 contributed to anywhere from 52,000 to 56,000 premature deaths. A health assessment of 148 firefighters who worked the Tubbs Fire, which burned more than 36,000 acres in Northern California in 2017 and destroyed an unusually high number of structures, found elevated levels of the #PFAS known as forever chemicals, #HeavyMetals, and flame retardants in their blood and urine.
"The L.A. County Department of Public Health has formally urged people to stay inside and wear masks to protect themselves from windblown toxic dust and ash. Air quality measurements don’t take these particles into account, which means the air quality index doesn’t reveal the extent of contaminants in the air.
"Zhu and her colleagues have been collecting samples of wildfire smoke in neighborhoods near the fires. It’ll be months before that data is fully analyzed, but Zhu suspects she will find a dangerous mix of chemicals, including, potentially, #asbestos and lead — materials used in many buildings constructed before the 1970s.
"The risk will linger even after the smoke clears. The plumes that wafted over the landscape will deposit chemicals into drinking #water supplies and #contaminate# soil. When rains do come, they’ll wash #ToxicAsh into streams and across the land, said Fernando Rosario-Ortiz, an environmental engineer and interim dean of the University of Colorado Boulder environmental engineering program. 'There’s a lot of manmade materials that are now being combusted. The potential is there for contamination,' he said, noting that little research on how toxic ash and other byproducts of wildfires in urban areas currently exists. 'What we don’t have a lot of information on is what happens now.'
"After the Camp Fire razed Paradise, California, in 2018, water utilities found high levels of volatile organic compounds [#VOCs] in #DrinkingWater. Similar issues have arisen in places like Boulder County, Colorado, where the Marshall Fire destroyed nearly 1,000 structures in 2021, Rosario-Ortiz said, though the presence of a contaminant in a home doesn’t necessarily mean it will be present in high levels in the water. Still, several municipal water agencies in Los Angeles issued preemptive advisories urging residents not to drink tap water in neighborhoods near the Palisades and Eaton fires. It’ll be weeks before they know exactly what’s in the water.
"As wildfires grow ever more intense and encroach upon urban areas, cities and counties must be prepared to monitor the health impacts and respond to them. 'This is the first time I’ve ever even witnessed or heard anything like this,' said Zhu, who raised her daughter in Los Angeles and has lived there for decades, said. 'Even being in the field studying wildfires and air quality impacts, I never imagined that a whole neighborhood, a whole community in Palisades, would burn down.'"
Read more:
https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-toxic-blend-of-las-urban-wildfire-smoke-will-have-lasting-health-consequences/?utm_source=flipboard&utm_medium=flipboard_rss&utm_campaign=znetwork
#AirPollution #WaterPollution #AirIsLife #WaterIsLife #ToxicMaterials #EnvironmentalDisaster #EnvironmentalDamage #Pyrocene #PyroceneEra -
Not just human health! The #Toxic Blend of LA’s Urban #WildfireSmoke Will Have Lasting Health Consequences
Los Angeles residents are breathing bits of "cars, metal pipes, plastics."
By Zoya Teirstein, January 22, 2025“These fires are different from previous quote-unquote ‘wildfires,’ because there are so many structures that burned,” said Yifang Zhu, a professor of environmental health sciences at the University of California, Los Angeles. 'Everything in the households got burned — cars, metal pipes, plastics.'
"#Wildfiresmoke is toxic. Burning trees and shrubs produce very fine #particulatematter, known by the shorthand PM 2.5, which burrow deep into the lungs and can even infiltrate the bloodstream, causing cold- and flu-like symptoms in the short term, and heart disease, lung cancer, and other chronic issues over time.
"But the fires that raced through Los Angeles burned thousands of homes, schools, historic buildings, and even medical clinics, blanketing the city in thick smoke. For several days after the first fire started, the city’s air quality index, or #AQI, exceeded 100, the threshold, typically seen during wildfires, at which air becomes unhealthy to breathe for children, the elderly, and those with asthma. In some parts of the city, the AQI reached 500, a number rarely seen and always hazardous for everyone.
"At the moment, air pollution experts know how much smoke fills the air. That’s shown improvement in recent days. But they don’t know what’s in it. 'What are the chemical mixtures in this smoke?' asked Kai Chen, an environmental scientist at the Yale School of Public Health. 'In addition to fine particulate matter, there are potentially other hazardous and #carcinogenic organic compounds — gas pollutants, trace metals, and microplastics.'
"Previous research shows that the spikes in unhealthy air quality seen during such events lead to higher rates of hospitalizations for issues like asthma, and even contribute to heart attacks among those with that chronic disease. A 2024 study on the long-term effects of smoke exposure in California showed that particulate matter from wildfires in the state from 2008 to 2018 contributed to anywhere from 52,000 to 56,000 premature deaths. A health assessment of 148 firefighters who worked the Tubbs Fire, which burned more than 36,000 acres in Northern California in 2017 and destroyed an unusually high number of structures, found elevated levels of the #PFAS known as forever chemicals, #HeavyMetals, and flame retardants in their blood and urine.
"The L.A. County Department of Public Health has formally urged people to stay inside and wear masks to protect themselves from windblown toxic dust and ash. Air quality measurements don’t take these particles into account, which means the air quality index doesn’t reveal the extent of contaminants in the air.
"Zhu and her colleagues have been collecting samples of wildfire smoke in neighborhoods near the fires. It’ll be months before that data is fully analyzed, but Zhu suspects she will find a dangerous mix of chemicals, including, potentially, #asbestos and lead — materials used in many buildings constructed before the 1970s.
"The risk will linger even after the smoke clears. The plumes that wafted over the landscape will deposit chemicals into drinking #water supplies and #contaminate# soil. When rains do come, they’ll wash #ToxicAsh into streams and across the land, said Fernando Rosario-Ortiz, an environmental engineer and interim dean of the University of Colorado Boulder environmental engineering program. 'There’s a lot of manmade materials that are now being combusted. The potential is there for contamination,' he said, noting that little research on how toxic ash and other byproducts of wildfires in urban areas currently exists. 'What we don’t have a lot of information on is what happens now.'
"After the Camp Fire razed Paradise, California, in 2018, water utilities found high levels of volatile organic compounds [#VOCs] in #DrinkingWater. Similar issues have arisen in places like Boulder County, Colorado, where the Marshall Fire destroyed nearly 1,000 structures in 2021, Rosario-Ortiz said, though the presence of a contaminant in a home doesn’t necessarily mean it will be present in high levels in the water. Still, several municipal water agencies in Los Angeles issued preemptive advisories urging residents not to drink tap water in neighborhoods near the Palisades and Eaton fires. It’ll be weeks before they know exactly what’s in the water.
"As wildfires grow ever more intense and encroach upon urban areas, cities and counties must be prepared to monitor the health impacts and respond to them. 'This is the first time I’ve ever even witnessed or heard anything like this,' said Zhu, who raised her daughter in Los Angeles and has lived there for decades, said. 'Even being in the field studying wildfires and air quality impacts, I never imagined that a whole neighborhood, a whole community in Palisades, would burn down.'"
Read more:
https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-toxic-blend-of-las-urban-wildfire-smoke-will-have-lasting-health-consequences/?utm_source=flipboard&utm_medium=flipboard_rss&utm_campaign=znetwork
#AirPollution #WaterPollution #AirIsLife #WaterIsLife #ToxicMaterials #EnvironmentalDisaster #EnvironmentalDamage #Pyrocene #PyroceneEra -
Not just human health! The #Toxic Blend of LA’s Urban #WildfireSmoke Will Have Lasting Health Consequences
Los Angeles residents are breathing bits of "cars, metal pipes, plastics."
By Zoya Teirstein, January 22, 2025“These fires are different from previous quote-unquote ‘wildfires,’ because there are so many structures that burned,” said Yifang Zhu, a professor of environmental health sciences at the University of California, Los Angeles. 'Everything in the households got burned — cars, metal pipes, plastics.'
"#Wildfiresmoke is toxic. Burning trees and shrubs produce very fine #particulatematter, known by the shorthand PM 2.5, which burrow deep into the lungs and can even infiltrate the bloodstream, causing cold- and flu-like symptoms in the short term, and heart disease, lung cancer, and other chronic issues over time.
"But the fires that raced through Los Angeles burned thousands of homes, schools, historic buildings, and even medical clinics, blanketing the city in thick smoke. For several days after the first fire started, the city’s air quality index, or #AQI, exceeded 100, the threshold, typically seen during wildfires, at which air becomes unhealthy to breathe for children, the elderly, and those with asthma. In some parts of the city, the AQI reached 500, a number rarely seen and always hazardous for everyone.
"At the moment, air pollution experts know how much smoke fills the air. That’s shown improvement in recent days. But they don’t know what’s in it. 'What are the chemical mixtures in this smoke?' asked Kai Chen, an environmental scientist at the Yale School of Public Health. 'In addition to fine particulate matter, there are potentially other hazardous and #carcinogenic organic compounds — gas pollutants, trace metals, and microplastics.'
"Previous research shows that the spikes in unhealthy air quality seen during such events lead to higher rates of hospitalizations for issues like asthma, and even contribute to heart attacks among those with that chronic disease. A 2024 study on the long-term effects of smoke exposure in California showed that particulate matter from wildfires in the state from 2008 to 2018 contributed to anywhere from 52,000 to 56,000 premature deaths. A health assessment of 148 firefighters who worked the Tubbs Fire, which burned more than 36,000 acres in Northern California in 2017 and destroyed an unusually high number of structures, found elevated levels of the #PFAS known as forever chemicals, #HeavyMetals, and flame retardants in their blood and urine.
"The L.A. County Department of Public Health has formally urged people to stay inside and wear masks to protect themselves from windblown toxic dust and ash. Air quality measurements don’t take these particles into account, which means the air quality index doesn’t reveal the extent of contaminants in the air.
"Zhu and her colleagues have been collecting samples of wildfire smoke in neighborhoods near the fires. It’ll be months before that data is fully analyzed, but Zhu suspects she will find a dangerous mix of chemicals, including, potentially, #asbestos and lead — materials used in many buildings constructed before the 1970s.
"The risk will linger even after the smoke clears. The plumes that wafted over the landscape will deposit chemicals into drinking #water supplies and #contaminate# soil. When rains do come, they’ll wash #ToxicAsh into streams and across the land, said Fernando Rosario-Ortiz, an environmental engineer and interim dean of the University of Colorado Boulder environmental engineering program. 'There’s a lot of manmade materials that are now being combusted. The potential is there for contamination,' he said, noting that little research on how toxic ash and other byproducts of wildfires in urban areas currently exists. 'What we don’t have a lot of information on is what happens now.'
"After the Camp Fire razed Paradise, California, in 2018, water utilities found high levels of volatile organic compounds [#VOCs] in #DrinkingWater. Similar issues have arisen in places like Boulder County, Colorado, where the Marshall Fire destroyed nearly 1,000 structures in 2021, Rosario-Ortiz said, though the presence of a contaminant in a home doesn’t necessarily mean it will be present in high levels in the water. Still, several municipal water agencies in Los Angeles issued preemptive advisories urging residents not to drink tap water in neighborhoods near the Palisades and Eaton fires. It’ll be weeks before they know exactly what’s in the water.
"As wildfires grow ever more intense and encroach upon urban areas, cities and counties must be prepared to monitor the health impacts and respond to them. 'This is the first time I’ve ever even witnessed or heard anything like this,' said Zhu, who raised her daughter in Los Angeles and has lived there for decades, said. 'Even being in the field studying wildfires and air quality impacts, I never imagined that a whole neighborhood, a whole community in Palisades, would burn down.'"
Read more:
https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-toxic-blend-of-las-urban-wildfire-smoke-will-have-lasting-health-consequences/?utm_source=flipboard&utm_medium=flipboard_rss&utm_campaign=znetwork
#AirPollution #WaterPollution #AirIsLife #WaterIsLife #ToxicMaterials #EnvironmentalDisaster #EnvironmentalDamage #Pyrocene #PyroceneEra -
Not just human health! The #Toxic Blend of LA’s Urban #WildfireSmoke Will Have Lasting Health Consequences
Los Angeles residents are breathing bits of "cars, metal pipes, plastics."
By Zoya Teirstein, January 22, 2025“These fires are different from previous quote-unquote ‘wildfires,’ because there are so many structures that burned,” said Yifang Zhu, a professor of environmental health sciences at the University of California, Los Angeles. 'Everything in the households got burned — cars, metal pipes, plastics.'
"#Wildfiresmoke is toxic. Burning trees and shrubs produce very fine #particulatematter, known by the shorthand PM 2.5, which burrow deep into the lungs and can even infiltrate the bloodstream, causing cold- and flu-like symptoms in the short term, and heart disease, lung cancer, and other chronic issues over time.
"But the fires that raced through Los Angeles burned thousands of homes, schools, historic buildings, and even medical clinics, blanketing the city in thick smoke. For several days after the first fire started, the city’s air quality index, or #AQI, exceeded 100, the threshold, typically seen during wildfires, at which air becomes unhealthy to breathe for children, the elderly, and those with asthma. In some parts of the city, the AQI reached 500, a number rarely seen and always hazardous for everyone.
"At the moment, air pollution experts know how much smoke fills the air. That’s shown improvement in recent days. But they don’t know what’s in it. 'What are the chemical mixtures in this smoke?' asked Kai Chen, an environmental scientist at the Yale School of Public Health. 'In addition to fine particulate matter, there are potentially other hazardous and #carcinogenic organic compounds — gas pollutants, trace metals, and microplastics.'
"Previous research shows that the spikes in unhealthy air quality seen during such events lead to higher rates of hospitalizations for issues like asthma, and even contribute to heart attacks among those with that chronic disease. A 2024 study on the long-term effects of smoke exposure in California showed that particulate matter from wildfires in the state from 2008 to 2018 contributed to anywhere from 52,000 to 56,000 premature deaths. A health assessment of 148 firefighters who worked the Tubbs Fire, which burned more than 36,000 acres in Northern California in 2017 and destroyed an unusually high number of structures, found elevated levels of the #PFAS known as forever chemicals, #HeavyMetals, and flame retardants in their blood and urine.
"The L.A. County Department of Public Health has formally urged people to stay inside and wear masks to protect themselves from windblown toxic dust and ash. Air quality measurements don’t take these particles into account, which means the air quality index doesn’t reveal the extent of contaminants in the air.
"Zhu and her colleagues have been collecting samples of wildfire smoke in neighborhoods near the fires. It’ll be months before that data is fully analyzed, but Zhu suspects she will find a dangerous mix of chemicals, including, potentially, #asbestos and lead — materials used in many buildings constructed before the 1970s.
"The risk will linger even after the smoke clears. The plumes that wafted over the landscape will deposit chemicals into drinking #water supplies and #contaminate# soil. When rains do come, they’ll wash #ToxicAsh into streams and across the land, said Fernando Rosario-Ortiz, an environmental engineer and interim dean of the University of Colorado Boulder environmental engineering program. 'There’s a lot of manmade materials that are now being combusted. The potential is there for contamination,' he said, noting that little research on how toxic ash and other byproducts of wildfires in urban areas currently exists. 'What we don’t have a lot of information on is what happens now.'
"After the Camp Fire razed Paradise, California, in 2018, water utilities found high levels of volatile organic compounds [#VOCs] in #DrinkingWater. Similar issues have arisen in places like Boulder County, Colorado, where the Marshall Fire destroyed nearly 1,000 structures in 2021, Rosario-Ortiz said, though the presence of a contaminant in a home doesn’t necessarily mean it will be present in high levels in the water. Still, several municipal water agencies in Los Angeles issued preemptive advisories urging residents not to drink tap water in neighborhoods near the Palisades and Eaton fires. It’ll be weeks before they know exactly what’s in the water.
"As wildfires grow ever more intense and encroach upon urban areas, cities and counties must be prepared to monitor the health impacts and respond to them. 'This is the first time I’ve ever even witnessed or heard anything like this,' said Zhu, who raised her daughter in Los Angeles and has lived there for decades, said. 'Even being in the field studying wildfires and air quality impacts, I never imagined that a whole neighborhood, a whole community in Palisades, would burn down.'"
Read more:
https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-toxic-blend-of-las-urban-wildfire-smoke-will-have-lasting-health-consequences/?utm_source=flipboard&utm_medium=flipboard_rss&utm_campaign=znetwork
#AirPollution #WaterPollution #AirIsLife #WaterIsLife #ToxicMaterials #EnvironmentalDisaster #EnvironmentalDamage #Pyrocene #PyroceneEra -
Here we go again!
Air Quality Action Day for all of Michigan Tuesday due to wildfire smoke
#Michigan #News #AirQualityAlert #Weather #Today #WildfireSmoke
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Global News BC: Northeastern B.C. under smoky skies bulletins as fires rage in Alberta https://globalnews.ca/news/9678705/smoky-skies-bc-alberta-wildfires/ #globalnews #britishcolumbia #news #smokysiesbulletin #Albertawildfire #northeasternbc #WildfireSeason #WildfireSmoke #B.C.weather #FortSt.John #BCWildfire #FortNelson #Wildfire #Weather #Smoke #Fire