Yesterday at 20:09
Even though the Camp Fire is burning 180 miles, (290 kilometers), to the northeast of the San Francisco Bay area, smoke from the huge wildfire is blanketing the area. This is making it hard to breathe for some and posing serious health risks for others.
“It just feels very smoky and full of particulates. I’m definitely worried about my son who’s breathing this stuff. We’ve got air filters at home and we’re running them at full speed but I’m not sure it’s enough to get rid of all the toxic particulates so I’m definitely worried about the health of my family and the city in general,” San Francisco resident Daniel Horn said.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency website, the air quality in the inland city of Sacramento has been “hazardous” and for San Francisco “very unhealthy.” Many people walking around these cities wore face masks.
“It sucks for people who are allergic to this stuff. Even me, I’m walking out here and my god, now my throat is feeling raspy. I walk here every day on my work lunch break. It’s crazy. I can’t believe it. It’s really sad and hopefully, they’ll be able to stop it. We’ll see how long it goes,” San Francisco resident Kylie Garcia said.
Research suggests that children, the elderly and those with existing health problems are most at risk. Short-term exposure to wildfire smoke can worsen existing asthma and lung disease, leading to emergency room treatment or hospitalization.
However, for most healthy people, exposure to wildfire smoke is just an annoyance, causing burning eyes, scratchy throats or chest discomfort that all disappear when the smoke clears, which cannot happen soon enough for these residents.
