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Wildfires have increased in frequency and area burned, trends expected to continue with climate change. Among other effects, fires release pollutants into the atmosphere, representing a risk to human health and downwind terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. While human health risks...

Invited Question and Answer article for Nature Cardiovascular Research on Particulate Matter.Recent air-quality alerts in major cities due to the wildfires in Canada, Hawaii and Greece have put fine particulate matter (PM) pollution and consequent health issues into the spotlight...

Formaldehyde (HCHO) is one of the most abundant non-methane volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted by fires. HCHO also undergoes chemical production and loss as a fire plume ages, and it can be an important oxidant precursor. In this study, we disentangle the process...

During the 2019 Fire Influence on Regional to Global Environments and Air Quality (FIREX-AQ) study, the NASA DC-8 carried out in situ chemical measurements in smoke plumes emitted from wildfires and agricultural fires in the contiguous United States. The DC-8 payload include...

Fires emit sufficient sulfur to affect local and regional air quality and climate. This study analyzes SO2 emission factors and variability in smoke plumes from US wildfires and agricultural fires, as well as their relationship to sulfate and hydroxymethanesulfonate (HMS) fo...

Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) resulting from wildland fire is a significant public health risk in the United States (U.S.). The existing stationary monitoring network and the tools used to alert the public of smoke conditions, such as the Air Quality Index or NowCast, are not o...

During April 30–August 4, 2023, smoke originating from wildfires in Canada affected most of the contiguous United States. CDC used National Syndromic Surveillance Program data to assess numbers and percentages of asthma-associated emergency department (ED) visits on days wi...

Estimating population exposure to particulate matter during wildfires can be difficult because of insufficient monitoring data to capture the spatiotemporal variability of smoke plumes. Chemical transport models (CTMs) and satellite retrievals provide spatiotemporal data that may...

Objectives: California plans to substantially increase the use of prescribed fire to reduce risk of catastrophic wildfires. Although for a beneficial purpose, prescribed fire smoke may still pose a health concern, especially among sensitive populations. We sought to understand co...

Solutions-driven research is a transdisciplinary approach that incorporates diverse forms of expertise to identify solutions to stakeholder-identified environmental problems. This qualitative evaluation of early solutions-driven research projects provides transferable recommendat...

To combat the Wildfire Crisis in the U.S., prescribed fire is being instituted at an unprecedented scale. While there are documented examples of the ability of prescribed fire to reduce the size and intensity of individual fires, and subsequently smoke produced, prescribed fire a...

Introduction: As a lifestyle factor, poor sleep status is associated with increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality and may be influenced by environmental stressors, including air pollution. Methods: To determine whether exposure to air pollution modified cardio...

Wildfire activity is increasing and can be linked to climate change effects, including rising global temperatures and more frequent drought conditions. Wildfire emissions impact human health and sensitive ecosystems, particularly in the western United States where large fire freq...

Wildland fire smoke contains hazardous levels of fine particulate matter (PM2.5), a pollutant shown to adversely effect health. Estimating fire attributable PM2.5 concentrations is key to quantifying the impact on air quality and subsequent health burden. This is a challenging pr...

Particulate matter (PM) is a major primary pollutant emitted during wildland fires that has the potential to pose significant health risks to individuals/communities who live and work in areas impacted by smoke events. Limiting exposure is the principal measure available to mitig...

Estimating the Acute Health Impacts of Fire-Orginated PM2.5 Exposure During the 2017 California Wildfires: Sensitivity to Choices of Inputs

Forest biological disturbance agents (BDAs) are insects, pathogens, and parasitic plants that cause tree decline and mortality. Traditionally, BDAs were thought to increase the likelihood and severity of fire by adversely affecting forest health. However, there are a wide range o...

Wildland fires are diminishing air quality on a seasonal and regional basis, raising concerns about respiratory health risks to the public and occupational groups. This American Thoracic Society (ATS) workshop was convened to meet the growing health threat of wildland fire smoke....

ORD researchers will summarize and discuss laboratory study results evaluating the particulate matter removal effectiveness of do-it-yourself (DIY) air cleaners. These air cleaners are commonly used to filter smoke particles during wildland fires and are made by attaching an air ...

Radiological release incidents can potentially contaminate wide areas with radiological materials and decontamination efforts are typically focused on populated areas leaving radionuclides in forested areas for long periods of time. Large wildfires in contaminated forested areas ...

Abstract: As the climate warms, wildfires are increasing in size and intensity, posing a risk to human health and sensitive ecosystems. Studies have reported on particulate matter (PM) in wildfire smoke; however, the chemicals associated with PM, including toxic metals, have rece...

Objective(s) This study explored the feasibility, acceptability, preliminary impact, and functionality of two risk reduction mobile application (app) interventions on asthma outcomes as compared to a control arm during wildfire season. Design Three-arm, 8-week randomized clinic...

Wildland fires are a major source of gases and aerosols, and the production, dispersion, and transformation of fire emissions have significant ambient air quality impacts and climate interactions. The increase in the wildfire area burned and severity across the US and Canada in r...

Startling images of smoke-filled skies have filled the news and social media in recent years during major wildfires in the U.S. (Figure 1). In 2020, over 10 million acres burned from nearly 59,000 wildland fires, including wildfires and prescribed fires (National Interagency Coor...

High severity fires can burn down riparian vegetation that shade streams, stabilize streambank and trap moisture and sediment. Water resources managers are concerned about post-fire effects on streams’ thermal regime and their implications for salmonids. In this study, we a...