07/16/2026
Some reminders to be very careful exerting oneself while the air quality is very poor from wildfire smoke.
“Wildfire smoke is a neurotoxin,” said Patel. “There are so many different ways that wildfires affect our bodies, and we're only beginning to explore them because we’ve never been exposed to this much smoke before.”
climate.gov "Unmasking The Complicated Chemistry of Wildfire Smoke."
"WUI fires appear to have a unique chemical profile. Smoke from WUI fires contains other chemicals, mostly trace metals that are harmful to human health, including copper, lead, and zinc."
EPA.gov "What's in Wildfire Smoke?"
"Wildfire smoke is a complex mixture composed of water v***r and numerous pollutants, including, gases (e.g., carbon monoxide, oxides of nitrogen [NOx]), organic compounds (e.g., polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons [PAHs]), volatile organic compounds [VOCs]) and particulate matter (PM). Of these pollutants, this course focuses on PM because it is one of the main components found in smoke and because there are decades of research documenting that exposure to PM is associated with serious health effects (Prichard et al. 2020; U.S. EPA 2019)."
epa.gov : "Wildfire Smoke; A Complex Mixture"
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