This year’s “State of the Air” report, released annually by the American Lung Association, highlighted a concerning recent trend for air quality in California. The report found that smoke pollution from large wildfires is making the air we breathe dangerous to our health and the air is thickened by smoke more frequently in recent years.California is certainly not alone. Over the past 30 years, the average annual acreage burned by wildfires in the United States has doubled.That increase in wildfire coverage and duration led the American Lung Association to commission and fund a study looking for strategies to help mitigate the risks and overall exposure to harmful smoke particles.One key approach is prescribed burning. The ALA study found that while prescribed burning and the smoke it produces still has some inherent health risks. Those risks tend to be more acute and more localized than health risks that come with a catastrophic wildfire.“We know that we can’t choose when wildfires erupt, we can’t choose our smoke events when it comes to wildfires,” said Will Barrett, national senior director for clean air advocacy for the American Lung Association. “What we can do is try to limit the effects of through this long-standing practice that fire agencies have employed to reduce fuel loads and the potential for major, catastrophic wildfires.”Prescribed or planned burns are historically proven to help slow the growth of wildfires while preserving the health of a forest ecosystem. Indigenous communities have been using prescribed burns to manage forests for exactly that for thousands of years. But there is very little peer-reviewed research comparing the human health impacts of prescribed burns vs large wildfires. “We will continue to do more research on different wildfire practices and prevention strategies. I think that’s a key outcome of the report,” Barrett said.Whatever the source, if you can see or smell smoke, there are several steps the American Lung Association recommends. Those steps include remaining indoors to the extent possible in a space that has clean, filtered air. If that’s not possible, wearing a properly fitted N-95 face mask can help block some of the particles from entering your respiratory system. It’s also important to monitor family members and friends, especially the very young, very old and those with chronic illnesses for symptoms of toxic smoke inhalation.Prescribed burning can pose other risks, too. On May 20, the United States Forest Service temporarily suspended its prescribed burning program when a planned burn escaped containment and became New Mexico’s largest wildfire in state history. The USFS says it is taking 90 days to carefully examine its prescribed burning practices.Meanwhile, earlier this year several agencies came together to develop a plan to expand prescribed burning in California. A report released in March, written by the California Wildfire and Forest Resiliency Task Force set a goal for federal, state, local, tribal and private landowners to burn a combined 400,000 acres per year by the year 2025.That’s compared to an average of 78,000 combined acres per year between CalFire and the USFS for the last four years. Prescribed burning is just one of several other possible strategies for limiting exposure to widespread wildfire smoke throughout the U.S. Experts say that a combination of all of them should be explored to help combat the trend of bigger wildfire seasons as climate change intensifies in the years ahead.

This year’s “State of the Air” report, released annually by the American Lung Association, highlighted a concerning recent trend for air quality in California.

The report found that smoke pollution from large wildfires is making the air we breathe dangerous to our health and the air is thickened by smoke more frequently in recent years.

California is certainly not alone. Over the past 30 years, the average annual acreage burned by wildfires in the United States has doubled.

That increase in wildfire coverage and duration led the American Lung Association to commission and fund a study looking for strategies to help mitigate the risks and overall exposure to harmful smoke particles.

One key approach is prescribed burning.

The ALA study found that while prescribed burning and the smoke it produces still has some inherent health risks. Those risks tend to be more acute and more localized than health risks that come with a catastrophic wildfire.

“We know that we can’t choose when wildfires erupt, we can’t choose our smoke events when it comes to wildfires,” said Will Barrett, national senior director for clean air advocacy for the American Lung Association. “What we can do is try to limit the effects of [wildfires] through this long-standing practice that fire agencies have employed to reduce fuel loads and the potential for major, catastrophic wildfires.”

Prescribed or planned burns are historically proven to help slow the growth of wildfires while preserving the health of a forest ecosystem. Indigenous communities have been using prescribed burns to manage forests for exactly that for thousands of years.

But there is very little peer-reviewed research comparing the human health impacts of prescribed burns vs large wildfires.

“We will continue to do more research on different wildfire practices and prevention strategies. I think that’s a key outcome of the report,” Barrett said.

Whatever the source, if you can see or smell smoke, there are several steps the American Lung Association recommends.

Those steps include remaining indoors to the extent possible in a space that has clean, filtered air. If that’s not possible, wearing a properly fitted N-95 face mask can help block some of the particles from entering your respiratory system.

It’s also important to monitor family members and friends, especially the very young, very old and those with chronic illnesses for symptoms of toxic smoke inhalation.

Prescribed burning can pose other risks, too.

On May 20, the United States Forest Service temporarily suspended its prescribed burning program when a planned burn escaped containment and became New Mexico’s largest wildfire in state history. The USFS says it is taking 90 days to carefully examine its prescribed burning practices.

Meanwhile, earlier this year several agencies came together to develop a plan to expand prescribed burning in California. A report released in March, written by the California Wildfire and Forest Resiliency Task Force set a goal for federal, state, local, tribal and private landowners to burn a combined 400,000 acres per year by the year 2025.

That’s compared to an average of 78,000 combined acres per year between CalFire and the USFS for the last four years.

Prescribed burning is just one of several other possible strategies for limiting exposure to widespread wildfire smoke throughout the U.S. Experts say that a combination of all of them should be explored to help combat the trend of bigger wildfire seasons as climate change intensifies in the years ahead.

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