Wildfires Causing Further Deterioration of Southern California's Air Quality
by Jeremy Elton Jacquot, Los Angeles on 10.24.07
As if those of us living in Southern California didn't already have enough to worry about with the rampaging wildfires that have engulfed much of the region and prompted the evacuation of over 500,000 people, health officials are now cautioning residents to remain indoors as the already poor air quality continues to deteriorate. The wave of fires has stirred up large plumes of smoke that have been pumping soot particles into the atmosphere - the tiniest of which are responsible for aggravating several debilitating diseases, including emphysema, asthma and heart disease.
As Michael Kleinman, a professor of community and environmental medicine at UC Irvine noted, those particles "can penetrate deeper in the lungs and have harsher health effects," often causing "tissue damage, inflammation and irritation". The health risks of exposure are particularly acute since this is one of the first times so many Southern Californian cities have been blanketed by a combination of smoke and dust kicked up by stronger winds.
While officials sought to tamp down some of the concern by emphasizing that the smell of smoke alone wasn't reason enough to worry, they did point out that those living close to the wildfires or large areas of soot should be careful because of the risk of exposure to carbon monoxide. Those areas were given "unhealthy" or "very unhealthy" air quality readings by the South Coast Air Quality Management District.
Via ::Los Angeles Times: Windblown soot, gas and dust pose threats (newspaper)
See also: ::Green Basics: Indoor Air Pollution, ::NY Teens to Gauge Air Pollution, ::American Lung Association's 2007 Air Quality Report
This is terribly sad. So far, up to a million people are under evacuation orders. And a lot of people are in for unpleasant surprises when they try to rebuild or claim insurance. Many of these fire-prone areas should never have been built in and rebuilds will either be blocked based on fire concerns or unisurability.
Insurance companies are even using sattelite images to check on fire-prone plant growth on policy-holders' property, and are using it as a basis to cancel coverage or jack up rates. Sadly, it's a perfectly rational business practice. They are paying attention to the science. I wish the politicians who allowed this development in wild lands did the same.
Hats off to Treehugger for promoting sustainable development practices. If development was governed by common sense instead of politics, there would be fewer of these tragedies.
Thank you for your comment. I was wondering if some of this was a result of irresponsible development practices. Maybe some lessons will be learned, but unfortunately, it would have been good if the science had been heeded ahead of building, not after a disaster such as this, and someone tries to collect on their insurance policy. Even though it is a lot of money in claims, the insurance companies make a ton of money.