Wildfire Smoke: Safeguarding the Health of the Community

Home on fire

Picture the scenario where you must suddenly abandon everything, gather your children, and abandon your work and home. This specter has become a terrifying reality for thousands as wildfires rage across Canada and the U.S. Northwest.

Last week, Jasper National Park in Alberta, Canada, fully evacuated because of a “monster” fire that invaded the municipality. Initial estimates suggest that as much as half of the town’s infrastructure and buildings are lost. Further west, hundreds of people across British Columbia, Canada, are facing evacuation as wildfires continue to grow. In the United States, a flood of evacuations is happening in Northern California as the Park Fire wildfire rages.

Whenever we get major fires close to homes or businesses, risk of evacuation, lost buildings, and a looming threat of business interruption occurs. The early start and frequency of this year’s fires are chilling, and the unpredictability of these blazes is troubling to many people.

The No. 1 piece of preparedness advice is awareness—always listen to authorities. If a community is on evacuation alert, residents must be ready to go with a full tank of gas and a packed bag. Moving quickly can protect lives.

Beyond the flames, millions of people in the western U.S. remain under air quality alerts due to the smoke from the fires. Wildfire smoke can be carried hundreds or thousands of miles, far beyond where the fires take place. In smoke-affected areas the drastic change in air quality poses a significant threat to people and businesses.

We often see smoke particulate levels in the air that are 30 or 40 times the normal safe limit because of wildfire smoke. For business owners, employees, and residents, breathing in this smoke can be dangerous; providing clean air for employees, customers, tenants, and residents is a priority. Employers can take steps to protect workers by allowing flexible work schedules on low air quality days and installing additional air scrubbing equipment.

Wildfires have also highlighted the risks of fire and smoke damage to commercial and residential properties and building structures.

Safeguarding community health

As wildfires continue to grow more intense at greater frequency, smoke and soot will continue to create problems for areas that otherwise go untouched by the flames. That means an increase in risk to the health and safety of the elderly, young children, and individuals with respiratory conditions.

With the sustained heat and dry conditions, North America has seen several of the most damaging wildfire seasons in the last 10 years. A wildfire’s footprint is much larger than can be seen with the naked eye. If smoke impacts a community for too long, it can contaminate properties and be devastating to local economies.

Soot and smoke can be major contributors to property damage during a wildfire, and the longer exposed surfaces go untreated, the more damage will likely incur. Air quality must be dealt with through the usage of proper air filtration devices.

In these poor air quality situations, unsafe levels of soot most likely exist. Soot is made up of flakes of matter that did not burn completely during the fire. Smoke then carries this soot to the far-reaching areas that are hit with poor air quality.

Using an air filtration device can help remove particulates from the air. When choosing an air filtration device for wildfire smoke, make note that the most efficient devices have a HEPA filter and a large fan. HEPA filters can reduce particle concentrations by as much as 85%, according to the EPA.

Smoke contamination can also travel to areas of property and/or belongings that may not be visible to the untrained eye. Smoke is attracted to the coldest areas of a property. These will be the areas that suffer the most damage. When cleaning, it’s important to remember the immediate environment may not be safe. Always protect any staff or suppliers with disposable dust masks, respirators, and gloves before beginning to clean an area.

Much discussion and action has taken place to protect, prepare, and build communities to be more resilient to wildfires. Ultimately, catastrophes provide an occasion to reshape our thinking about how communities are planned and built. While urban planners consider how development can coexist with natural areas, communities can take steps to prepare in advance to protect properties, reduce business interruption, and safeguard lives.

Ally O’Dell and Jim Mandeville

Ally O'Dell is general manager at the First Onsite Property Restoration branch based in San Francisco. She helps businesses in Northern California facing fires, floods, and property damage. Jim Mandeville, based in Florida, is a senior vice president at First Onsite Property Restoration. He has spent nearly two decades mitigating fires and disasters for businesses and homeowners across North America.

Follow Ally O’Dell and Jim Mandeville

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