The smoke emerging from California wildfires blanketed downtown Reno on August 18, 2021, and obscured the Sierra Nevada mountains. On usual days, the range of mountains is noticeable to the Western United States. The quality of air in Nevada due to wildfires keeps getting more and more unhealthy. The worst thing is that no relief is close enough to be achieved. In this situation, Senator Catherine Marie Cortez Masto encourages firefighters, teachers, scientists and mothers to help create new plans to address the air quality issue.
At a recent roundtable discussion in Reno, Masto talked about it with air quality experts who raised their concerns and challenges in many respects. Air quality expert Brendan Schneider of Washoe County Health District participated in the discussion. Schneider stated that the ten worst days regarding particle pollution have been registered in Reno-Sparks over the last eleven months.
The respiratory distress-related calls that Regional Emergency Medical Services Authority paramedics respond to are 52% more than usual, said REMSA’s Adam Heinz. The professionals usually respond to around 350 respiratory distress-associated calls monthly, but there were 458 calls in August.
Heinz also stated that smoke has contributed to the cancellation of fifty-two CareFlight trips. The trips are important for rural locations that require the choppers to move patients from those areas to Las Vegas and Reno medical centers.
Wildfire smoke, too, seems to be playing a part in coronavirus transmissions, thereby complicating the following processes.
- Protecting schools
- Delivering food to seniors who belong to the low-income class
- Letting first-responders meet multiple demands of a resurgent epidemic and raging wildfires
Desert Research Institute researcher Daniel Kaiser stated that a DRI study on patients of Renown Regional Medical Center indicates that coronavirus cases increased by around 20% during high wildfire smoke levels last year. The Washoe County School District’s Adam Searcy stated that schools in this county face a problematic situation with smoke outdoors and coronavirus disease indoors. Searcy also stated that the District has been replacing filters and upgrading airflow systems to cleanse the affected property with fresh air, save on certain days.
Forester and Firewarden for the Nevada Division of Forestry Kacey KC stated that the same individuals are at the front line of the fight against wildfires and the pandemic. Kacey KC also stated that those people are not having a break when working for months.
Regional fire department officers joined Masto, medical researchers, environmental scientists, and a Nevada Moms Clean Air Force officer in a federal building conference room with smoke in Reno. The others concurred with Masto’s belief that they should learn more regarding how poor air would affect firefighters, who are at the front line of the fight against wildfires, over time.
As for Masto, no one is studying the said issue. Therefore, no data is available on it, which Masto regards as a concern that would not disappear.
The Truckee Meadows Fire Protection District’s Charles Moore stated that firefighters take unusual precautions to safeguard those who respond to blazes at a warehouse with toxins.
Chief of Reno Fire Department David Cochran stated that it is possible to somewhat avoid being exposed to unhealthy-type air during a fire at a wildland. Cochran suggested developing new equipment to protect responders, as using the existing equipment is often impractical on those front lines with 100°C temperatures.
As for Masto, a positive aspect of the latest thick smoke blankets is that it would catch the eye of politicians situated in the State of Washington from areas beyond the West.
Masto opined that Western state senate members understand the situation, whereas some eastern Nevada senators consider the health of East Coast people as they smell the airborne smoke there.
She told reporters that the event should aid Western legislators in explaining why it is important to invest in not just wildfire suppression, preparation and recovery but also federal agency budgets. As for the senator, it would simplify that explanation process.