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As wildfire risks have elevated due to climate change, the health risks that toxicants from fire smoke pose to wildland firefighters have been exacerbated. Recently, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has reclassified wildland firefighters’…
Person:
Year: 2023
Type: Document
Source: FRAMES
Topic(s): Emissions and Smoke, Prescribed Fire, Safety, Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI)
Region(s): Alaska, California, Eastern, Great Basin, Hawaii, Northern Rockies, Northwest, Rocky Mountain, Southern, Southwest, National
Keywords: wildfire, firefighter, multi-pollutant mixtures, occupational health, environmental health, exposure assessment, wildfire management, respiratory protection

[From the Report Summary] Background: The American Lung Association commissioned a report, written by PSE Healthy Energy, to answer the question: What does the current research say about the potential of prescribed fire to mitigate the increasing health and air…
Person:
Year: 2022
Type: Document
Source: FRAMES
Topic(s): Emissions and Smoke, Fire Effects, Hazard and Risk, Prescribed Fire, Safety, Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI)
Region(s): Alaska, California, Eastern, Great Basin, Hawaii, Northern Rockies, Northwest, Rocky Mountain, Southern, Southwest, International, National
Keywords: health risk, wildfire smoke, air quality risk, catastrophic wildfire, lung health, harmful smoke exposure

KEY POINTS - Wildland firefighters do not wear respiratory protection while working long hours and can be exposed to elevated concentrations of smoke. There is very limited research on long-term health of wildland firefighters from smoke exposure…
Person:
Year: 2020
Type: Document
Source: FRAMES
Topic(s): Emissions and Smoke, Safety, Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI)
Region(s): California
Keywords: wildfire, firefighters, outdoor workers, PM - particulate matter, health effects, smoke exposure

Recent growth in the frequency and severity of US wildfires has led to more wildfire smoke and increased public exposure to harmful air pollutants. Populations exposed to wildfire smoke experience a variety of negative health impacts, imposing…
Person:
Year: 2017
Type: Document
Source: TTRS
Topic(s): Economics, Emissions and Smoke, Fire Effects, Hazard and Risk, Safety, Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI)
Region(s): Alaska, California, Eastern, Great Basin, Hawaii, Northern Rockies, Northwest, Rocky Mountain, Southern, Southwest, National
Keywords: air quality, wildfires, health factors, health costs, benefit transfer, BenMAP Community Edition, California wildfires, southern California, forecasting system, economic cost, smoke exposure, verification, mortality, cities

Smoke from wildfires presents one of the greatest threats to air quality, public health, and ecosystems in the United States, especially in the West. Here we quantify the efficacy of prescribed burning as an intervention for mitigating smoke exposure…
Person:
Year: 2023
Type: Document
Source: FRAMES
Topic(s): Climate, Emissions and Smoke, Fire Effects, Hazard and Risk, Outreach, Prescribed Fire, Safety, Social Science, Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI)
Region(s): California, Great Basin, Northern Rockies, Northwest, Rocky Mountain, Southwest
Keywords: fine particulate matter, PM2.5, mitigating wildfire impacts, environmental justice, smoke exposure, public health, atmospheric chemistry transport modeling, satellite observations, prescribed burning effectiveness, air quality

Catastrophic wildfires in the western United States pose significant risks to public health, infrastructure, and ecosystems. As these wildfires become more frequent, there is a growing need for a common methodology to identify suitable locations for prescribed…
Person: Kelp
Year: 2023
Type: Media
Source: FRAMES
Topic(s): Climate, Emissions and Smoke, Fire Effects, Hazard and Risk, Outreach, Prescribed Fire, Safety, Social Science, Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI)
Region(s): California, Great Basin, Northern Rockies, Northwest, Rocky Mountain, Southwest
Keywords: smoke exposure, atmospheric chemistry transport modeling, mitigating wildfire impacts, satellite observations, prescribed burning effectiveness, air quality, environmental justice, fine particulate matter, PM2.5, public health

The American Lung Association recently released a report titled "Can Prescribed Fire Mitigate Health Harm? A Review of Air Quality and Public Health Implications of Wildfire and Prescribed Fire." This report, commissioned by the American Lung…
Person:
Year: 2022
Type: Media
Source: FRAMES
Topic(s): Emissions and Smoke, Fire Effects, Hazard and Risk, Prescribed Fire, Safety, Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI)
Region(s): Alaska, California, Eastern, Great Basin, Hawaii, Northern Rockies, Northwest, Rocky Mountain, Southern, Southwest, International, National
Keywords: health risk, air quality risk, catastrophic wildfire, lung health, wildfire smoke exposure, harmful smoke exposure

Smoke from wildfires in the United States is adversely affecting air quality and potentially putting more people at health risk from smoke exposure. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the USDA Forest Service, and other…
Person:
Year:
Type: Tool
Source: FRAMES
Topic(s): Emissions and Smoke, Outreach, Safety, Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI)
Region(s): Alaska, California, Eastern, Great Basin, Hawaii, Northern Rockies, Northwest, Rocky Mountain, Southern, Southwest, National
Keywords: indoor air quality, preparedness, wildfire, health, particulate air pollution, AirNow

Wildfires create significant smoke impacts to communities near and downwind of the wildfire events.  This webinar will provide a discussion on ways to prevent wildfire smoke exposures, including both residential strategies (including air filtration units) as…
Person: Ward
Year: 2019
Type: Media
Source: FRAMES
Topic(s): Emissions and Smoke, Safety, Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI)
Region(s): California, Great Basin, Northern Rockies, Northwest, Rocky Mountain, Southwest
Keywords: PM - particulate matter, PM2.5, health effects, wildfires, mental health, air quality, air pollution, indoor air quality

Fires are increasing in frequency, size and intensity partly due to climate change and land management practices, yet there is limited knowledge of the impacts of smoke emissions - both short term and long term. EPA is using its expertise in air quality research to fill the gaps…
Person:
Year: 2017
Type: Website
Source: FRAMES
Topic(s): Aquatic, Climate, Emissions and Smoke, Fire Effects, Monitoring and Inventory, Prescribed Fire, Safety, Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI)
Region(s): Alaska, California, Eastern, Great Basin, Hawaii, Northern Rockies, Northwest, Rocky Mountain, Southern, Southwest, National
Keywords: air quality, climate change, public health, smoke management, health impacts, wildfires, water supply, research, community protection

Purpose of Review: To review the recent literature on the effects of wildfire smoke (WFS) exposure on asthma and allergic disease, and on potential mechanisms of disease. Recent Findings: Spatiotemporal modeling and increased ground-level monitoring data are…
Person:
Year: 2023
Type: Document
Source: FRAMES
Topic(s): Emissions and Smoke, Models, Safety, Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI)
Region(s): Alaska, California, Eastern, Great Basin, Hawaii, Northern Rockies, Northwest, Rocky Mountain, Southern, Southwest, International, National
Keywords: wildfire, asthma, allergy, PM - particulate matter, PM2.5, health effects

We undertake a nationwide US study to estimate how mega-fires (defined as wildfires >100,000 acres in size) affect short-term infant health outcomes in communities located within the flame zone. This is the first study to look exclusively at mega-fires, which…
Person:
Year: 2022
Type: Document
Source: FRAMES
Topic(s): Emissions and Smoke, Fire Effects, Safety, Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI)
Region(s): Alaska, California, Eastern, Great Basin, Hawaii, Northern Rockies, Northwest, Rocky Mountain, Southern, Southwest, National
Keywords: megafires, mega-fires, indirect effects, health impacts, infant health, flame zone

The guide provides public health officials with the information they need to prepare for smoke events, communicate health risks and take measures to protect public health.  It is also a valuable resource for anyone interested in…
Person:
Year: 2019
Type: Document
Source: FRAMES
Topic(s): Communications, Emissions and Smoke, Fire Effects, Logistics, Monitoring and Inventory, Outreach, Planning, Safety, Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI)
Region(s): Alaska, California, Eastern, Great Basin, Hawaii, Northern Rockies, Northwest, Rocky Mountain, Southern, Southwest, National
Keywords:

In recent years, California experienced the largest, most destructive and deadliest wildfires in its history. Wildfires can cause fatalities and injuries, impair air quality for nearby and distant populations, and devastate the immediate area, leaving communities with often…
Person:
Year: 2020
Type: Document
Source: FRAMES
Topic(s): Emissions and Smoke, Fire Prevention, Prescribed Fire, Safety, Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI)
Region(s): California
Keywords: public health, wildfire, fire mitigation, fire suppression, air quality, water quality, power shutoff, forest management

Recent dramatic and deadly increases in global wildfire activity have increased attention on the causes of wildfires, their consequences, and how risk from wildfire might be mitigated. Here we bring together data on the changing risk and societal burden of wildfire in the United…
Person:
Year: 2021
Type: Document
Source: FRAMES
Topic(s): Climate, Emissions and Smoke, Hazard and Risk, Models, Safety, Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI)
Region(s): California, Eastern, Great Basin, Northern Rockies, Northwest, Rocky Mountain, Southern, Southwest
Keywords: wildfire, air pollution, climate change, health impacts, PM2.5, PM - particulate matter, COVID-19

[from the text] Under this strategy, the Forest Service will work with partners to engineer a paradigm shift by focusing fuels and forest health treatments more strategically and at the scale of the problem, using the best available science as the guide. At the…
Person:
Year: 2022
Type: Document
Source: FRAMES
Topic(s): Climate, Emissions and Smoke, Fire Behavior, Fire Effects, Fire Prevention, Fuels, Hazard and Risk, Outreach, Planning, Prescribed Fire, Restoration and Rehabilitation, Social Science, Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI)
Region(s): Alaska, California, Eastern, Great Basin, Hawaii, Northern Rockies, Northwest, Rocky Mountain, Southern, Southwest, National
Keywords: resilience, climate change, forest health, fireshed, fuel treatment, ignition, National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy (Cohesive Strategy), wildfires, land management, fire-adapted communities

Increasing development of exo-urban environments and the spread of urbanization into forested areas is making humans and forest ecosystems more susceptible to the risks associated with wildfires. Larger and more damaging wildfires are having a negative impact on forest ecosystem…
Person:
Year: 2020
Type: Document
Source: FRAMES
Topic(s): Emissions and Smoke, Fire Effects, Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI)
Region(s): Alaska, California, Eastern, Great Basin, Hawaii, Northern Rockies, Northwest, Rocky Mountain, Southern, Southwest, National
Keywords: aerosols, air quality, atmosphere, remote sensing, urbanization, wildfires, public health, VIIRS - Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite

Background: In wildland-urban interface (WUI) fires, particulates from the combustion of both natural vegetative fuels and engineered cellulosic fuels may have deleterious effects on the environment. Aims: The research was conducted to investigate the morphology of the…
Person:
Year: 2023
Type: Document
Source: FRAMES
Topic(s): Climate, Emissions and Smoke, Fuels, Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI)
Region(s): Alaska, California, Eastern, Great Basin, Hawaii, Northern Rockies, Northwest, Rocky Mountain, Southern, Southwest, International, National
Keywords: combustion, human health, OSB - oriented strand board, Scanning Electron Microscopy, particulates, smoldering, thermophoretic sampling, particle size

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…
Person:
Year: 2023
Type: Document
Source: FRAMES
Topic(s): Emissions and Smoke, Prescribed Fire, Safety, Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI)
Region(s): California
Keywords: wildfire, adaptive capacity, vulnerable populations, wildland fire, prescribed burns, managed fire

Little is known about public tolerance of smoke from wildland fires. By combining data from two household surveys, we sought to determine whether tolerance of smoke from wildland fires varies with its origin or managerial rationale, to describe geographical variation in…
Person:
Year: 2016
Type: Document
Source: FRAMES, TTRS
Topic(s): Communications, Emissions and Smoke, Fire Prevention, Outreach, Prescribed Fire, Safety, Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI)
Region(s): Alaska, California, Eastern, Great Basin, Hawaii, Northern Rockies, Northwest, Rocky Mountain, Southern, Southwest, National
Keywords: forest management, public health, tolerance, public acceptance, wildfires, survey, fire suppression, lightning caused fires, Oregon, South Carolina, Montana, Idaho, Texas, Louisiana, air quality, health factors, slash, thinning, fire management, smoke management, smoke effects

Wildfires in America are becoming larger, more frequent, and more destructive, driven by climate change and existing land management practices. Many of these fires occur at the wildland-urban interface (WUI), areas where development and wildland areas overlap and which are…
Person:
Year: 2022
Type: Document
Source: FRAMES
Topic(s): Emissions and Smoke, Fire Effects, Fuels, Planning, Safety, Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI)
Region(s): Alaska, California, Eastern, Great Basin, Hawaii, Northern Rockies, Northwest, Rocky Mountain, Southern, Southwest, International, National
Keywords:

These webinars are part of the U.S. EPA Environmental Justice Webinar Series for Tribes and Indigenous Peoples - to build the capacity of tribal governments, indigenous peoples and other environmental justice practitioners, and discuss priority EJ issues of interest to tribes…
Person: Ray, Rappold, Hano
Year: 2021
Type: Media
Source: FRAMES
Topic(s): Emissions and Smoke, Mapping, Monitoring and Inventory, Planning, Safety, Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI)
Region(s): Alaska, California, Eastern, Great Basin, Hawaii, Northern Rockies, Northwest, Rocky Mountain, Southern, Southwest, National
Keywords: Smoke Sense, air quality, health risk, wildfires, citizen science, Smoke Ready, smoke event, PM - particulate matter, PM2.5

Increasing fire impacts across North America are associated with climate and vegetation change, greater exposure through development expansion, and less-well studied but salient social vulnerabilities. We are at a critical moment in the contemporary human-fire…
Person:
Year: 2022
Type: Document
Source: FRAMES
Topic(s): Climate, Emissions and Smoke, Hazard and Risk, Planning, Prescribed Fire, Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI)
Region(s): California, Great Basin, Northern Rockies, Northwest, Rocky Mountain, Southwest
Keywords: PM - particulate matter, PM2.5, smoke management, resilience, environmental justice, hazard reduction, SETS - social-environmental-technological systems, climate change, wildfires

Background: Air quality deteriorates significantly during wildfire events, which poses a risk for the health of affected human populations. The Mediterranean Basin was strongly impacted by wildfires during the 2021 fire season, particularly in Greece. Aims: This…
Person:
Year: 2023
Type: Document
Source: FRAMES
Topic(s): Emissions and Smoke, Fire Effects, Models, Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI)
Region(s): International
Keywords: Greece, atmospheric pollution, CO - carbon monoxide, human health, O3 - ozone, PM - particulate matter, wildfire emissions, air quality

The increasing prevalence and severity of wildfire events around the world have emphasized the importance of wildfire resiliency in indoor environmental design. This study focuses on developing wildfire-resilient mechanical ventilation systems and ventilation strategies for…
Person:
Year: 2022
Type: Document
Source: FRAMES
Topic(s): Emissions and Smoke, Fire Effects, Safety, Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI)
Region(s): International
Keywords: wildfires, ventilation, urban safety, indoor air quality, indoor air filtration, PM2.5, Canada