How Wildfires Affect Our Health

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Print Back to Each Breath Blog by Editorial Staff | January 1, 2016 Topics: Science Natural Disasters In recent years, wildfires have made headlines as they blazed across the west, Alaska and Canada, burning more than 9.8 million acres just last year, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.Not only were people forced to flee their homes, but smoke from fires in the north and west also threaten the lung health of Americans thousands of miles away. In fact, in one fire alone, wildfire pollutants reached people in North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota and Iowa from flames in northern Canada. Sign up for email Get the latest news in wildfires and lung health directly to your inbox. See this dramatic photo from NASA showing the smoke from that Canadian fire on June 29.Wildfire smoke can be extremely harmful to the lungs, especially for children, older adults and those with asthma, COPD and bronchitis or a chronic heart disease or diabetes. Even if...