KINGS BEACH, CALIFORNIA--Early results from the largest ever study of wildfire prevention alternatives suggests that prescribed fire is usually cheaper and more ecologically sound than mechanical thinning.
Pfister et al. (2006) simulated the O3 production from boreal forest fires based on a case study of wildfires in Alaska and Canada in summer 2004 by using a chemistry transport model, the Model for O3 and Related Chemical Tracers (MOZART-4).
Mediterranean countries such as Portugal, where more than 25% of the land area has burned since 1990, are ideal areas to study impacts of wildfire effects on streams.
Similarly, our findings of relatively large associations with respiratory outcomes are consistent with other studies of pollution from wildfires and biomass derived particulates.
Two other studies of health effects of wildfires in California and Florida (Johnson et al. 2005; Sorenset et al. 1999) used syndromic surveillance data and reported increases in respiratory outcomes, asthma, respiratory complaints, eye irritation, and smoke inhalation for respiratory-related chief complaints.
This study addressed the impacts of wildfire and, in particular, its severity on the seed bank of the litter/ash layer and the topsoil of a Mediterranean pine plantation (Pinus pinaster Ait.) in north-central Portugal.
A case study on the exposure of wildfire smoke among wildland firefighters, show that firefighters are exposed to significant levels of carbon monoxide and respiratory irritants above OSHA permissible exposure limits (PEL and ACGIHH threshold limit values (TLV).
Human studies of the acute effects of wildfire smoke exposure on firefighters have demonstrated inflammatory responses and pulmonary function test declines (e.g., Swiston et al. 2008).
