An alarming number of Californians die from wildfires long after firefighters have battled them, new research shows.
Scientists are sounding the alarm about PM2.5: tiny smoke particles that emanate from wildfires and can penetrate deep into people’s respiratory tracts.
For those who inhale them, they can be more dangerous than the flames themselves.
Researchers estimated at least 52,480 premature deaths from the decade to 2018.
Wildfire smoke is linked to a variety of health problems that can send victims to an early grave.
A Santa Clara Cal Fire crew is racing to extinguish a spot fire this month, at the start of what experts worry could be another bad fire season.
A man checks the amount of tiny PM2.5 particles in the air with his cell phone, a precaution many Californians are now taking.
Debilitating conditions include asthma, decreased lung capacity and diabetes.
Researchers also warn about atherosclerosis (when plaque builds up on the inner lining of arteries, causing them to thicken and harden), which can lead to heart disease.
The small particles not only claim lives, researchers said, but also cost the Golden State about $432 billion over the 11-year period.
The study was led by Rachel Connolly of the University of California, Los Angeles and published in Science Advances.
“These findings expand the evidence on climate-related health impacts,” Connolly and others wrote in the study.
“Wildfires represent a higher mortality and economic burden than indicated by previous studies.”
Particles from wildfires are among the finest types of air pollution, measuring 2.5 microns or less in diameter, according to the California Air Resources Board.
Due to their small size (about one-thirtieth of a human hair), they can cause a variety of health problems that may not manifest immediately.
The team focused on small particles from wildfires, as opposed to other sources such as transportation and manufacturing.
They found that the number of premature deaths related to this type of pollution could reach 55,710.
The cost of treating people affected by contaminants could reach $456 billion, according to the report.
Rachel Connolly of the University of California, Los Angeles, led the study on deadly small particles from wildfires.
Small smoke particles emanate from wildfires and can penetrate deep into people’s respiratory tracts.
Wildfire smoke can be hard to escape: This image shows haze in New York City caused by wildfires in Canada in 2023.
Children, the elderly and people with underlying health conditions are more vulnerable to PM2.5 pollution, they said.
Weather apps can alert people to days when air quality is low.
On bad days, N95 masks and air filters can help limit your exposure.
The report was issued as firefighters brought California’s latest wildfire under control.
Fire crews tackled the Greenville Fire near the Bay Area city of Livermore, which burned 44 acres over the weekend.
Much of California and other parts of the American West are sweltering in the first heat wave of the year, with temperatures reaching 120 degrees Fahrenheit (49 Celsius) in some places.
Vast areas of forests and grasslands burn every year in California and other parts of the country, causing millions of dollars in destruction and claiming lives.
The National Interagency Fire Center estimates that an average of 70,000 wildfires occur annually across the country.
They are becoming more frequent. California suffered five times as many wildfires between 1996 and 2021 as it did between 1971 and 1995.
Ten of California’s largest wildfires have occurred in the past 20 years, five of which occurred in 2020 alone, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The western United States is bracing for another hot summer that could spark more fires.
Forest fires are a natural part of nature’s life cycle.
But climate change, caused by humanity’s uncontrolled burning of fossil fuels and emissions of planet-warming gases, is making them bigger, hotter and more dangerous.
Most of the time, people are to blame: discarded cigarettes, arson, faulty equipment and burning debris.
“The importance of wildfire management will only grow in the coming decades as aridification intensifies with climate change and more regions become susceptible to fires,” the researchers wrote in their paper.
