Wildfires Can Seriously Harm Your Health, Even If You Live Far Away

August is peak wildfire season in the western United States, and unfortunately for those who like to enjoy the summer weather, that means staying indoors whenever a new wildfire starts burning.  The recent Sand fire, located 37 miles north of downtown Los Angeles, burned more than 41,000 acres, prompted the evacuation of 20,000 people and destroyed 19 homes. The Soberanes wildfire, in Garrapata State Park just north of Big Sur in California, has burned over 45,000 acres and is only 25 percent contained. But large wildfires can also cluster in parts of the country, like the High Plains, Hawaii and Nevada, Oregon, Idaho, the Tennessee Valley and southern Appalachians. Aside from wreaking havoc on wildlife habitats, displacing people from their homes, and even killing people (as both the Sand and Soberanes fires did), wildfires can also be a major health risk even for people who live hundreds of miles away from the burning.  There are an average of 72,000 wildfires a year, and smoke from all wildfires affected an estimated two-thirds of all Americans in 2011, according to estimates from the environmental advocacy group Natural Resources Defense Council.   This is what wildfires can do to your health Fine particles in wildfire smoke can cause burning eyes, coughing, sore throat, irritated sinuses, headaches, a runny nose and bronchitis. In people with pre-existing conditions like asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, congestive hea...
Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news