Wildfire and Wildfire Smoke

Transcript: Hi, I’m Wildfire Smoke. Although you may not live near a wildfire, I most likely have impacted your health in the last few years. I’m a relative of PM2.5 so I can travel near and far. I’m complex. Beyond the immediate stress of a fire. Wildfire smoke is a mix of particles, gases, and water vapor. I include carbon monoxide, nitric oxides, and volatile organic compounds. Wildfires result in displacement, but my presence can result in PM2.5 levels exceeding some of the most polluted cities. When outside, you can breathe in these particles but if you are in a poorly ventilated building, I can settle in the dust and get on your skin or be ingested. My impact can be both mental and physical: from increased levels of stress to poor respiratory and cardiovascular health outcomes. I can exacerbate asthma. It may seem like the science of the invisible but without attention it can have lasting impacts. Wildfires result in increased air pollution, physical damage, loss of agriculture and destruction of our built environment. Vulnerable populations suffer disproportionate exposure to catastrophic loss from wildfire. Due to rising housing costs, low-income families are having to move to outer areas, where human communities and forests, shrublands, or grasslands intermingle, making the risk for wildfire especially high. Living with poverty, disability or language barriers make absorbing this risk particularly difficult.