Wildland Fires: Toward Improved Understanding and Forecasting of Air Quality Impacts Proceedings of a Workshop (2022) / Chapter Skim
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How Do We Get There?
How Do We Get There?
Pages 37-50
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From page 37... ...
There is a shift away from the concept that suppression is the answer for preventing fires and new focus on a more holistic forest management approach, including much more extensive use of prescribed burning. There is also a growing public recognition and acceptance that some smoke from controlled prescribed fire can reduce overall smoke impacts and is preferable to uncontrolled catastrophic wildfires and associated smoke episodes.
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From page 38... ...
Through this mechanism, cap-and-trade dollars are being used by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection as well as other land managers to conduct prescribed burning and other wildfire risk reduction and forest restoration activities. Looking ahead, devastating wildfires will continue until forests reach a more healthy condition, Nichols said.
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From page 39... ...
However, in 2015 when the state experienced smoke that was transported from much farther away, increased health care utilization was observed, suggesting possible differences in decisions to avoid or mitigate exposure based on proximity to the fire and associated emergency response. Finally, Magzamen reinforced the message that there is a need to manage lands in order to reduce health effects from wildland fires.
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From page 40... ...
Factors for Improving Air Quality Dan Jaffe, University of Washington, discussed four key factors where better understanding is needed to improve air quality and inform both policy and public health questions: O3, unique smoke markers, prescribed versus wildland fire smoke, and indoor air quality. First, it is well known that smoke contributes to O3 production and O3 exceedances in urban areas, but as discussed by other speakers, there is poor understanding of O3 processes, such as changes caused by individual smoke plumes mixing with urban air and plume movement downwind that causes O3 exceedances far from the source.
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From page 41... ...
Because wildland fires often are located far from city centers and it is known that smoke chemistry and dispersion change during smoke transport, there is a disconnect between the data that are available and the data that are needed. Chemical transport models are an important tool in studying health effects but often cannot estimate spatiotemporal smoke patterns because of imperfect emission estimates, complex terrain, coarse resolution, and limited knowledge of the chemistry.
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From page 42... ...
A machine learning model trained with EPA monitoring data and weighted sensor data showed higher annual average PM concentrations throughout most of California than the EPA data alone, suggesting an underestimate of regional population exposure when using only EPA measurements. Particularly high PM concentrations occurred in "hot spots" that corresponded to large wildland fires (Figure 9)
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From page 43... ...
Preparation includes improved communications both for response to acute fire events when conditions may be very smoky as well as to increase awareness of poor air quality farther downwind where populations may not realize they are being exposed. New standards that address occupational exposure may also be useful to protect those working outdoors and on the front lines.
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From page 44... ...
Another recent partnership Lahm explained is a pilot study between EPA and USFS to pull together lowcost air quality sensor data to augment the permanent PM2.5 monitoring data network. An advantage of IWFAQRP is that it works as both an operational and research framework in that it allows for real-time data evaluation as part of the toolboxes provided to air resource advisors.
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From page 45... ...
. In an effort to fill this void, EPA and CDC have developed a continuing education course based on information in the Wildfire Smoke Guide for Public Health Officials report (2019)
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From page 46... ...
For example, adding zoom and animation features to a forecast tool in western Canada was the change needed to get smoke data into nightly weather forecasts. Integrating smoke forecasts into weather forecast tools could also be beneficial from a communications perspective.
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From page 47... ...
Shepherd also posed a few questions to get at how the atmospheric sciences may be able to better provide input to advancing wildland fire science. These questions related to providing greater clarity in the connections among climate change, smoke, wildland fire, and associated attribution; the role that artificial intelligence and machine learning could play in advancing smoke forecasts; and what is missing from weather-climate models that would meet smoke forecasting needs (e.g., greater resolution, less parameterization, process, connection to decision support systems)
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From page 48... ...
Additional communications efforts are needed to ensure that wildland fire information reaches those for whom English is not their first language, panelists said. Having trusted communicators within communities who can translate fire information accurately is useful in reaching those who may be at risk.
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From page 49... ...
Practical steps, such as prescribed burning, provide a way to reduce fires, especially catastrophic ones. At the same time, developing a clear set of research priorities to improve understanding of wildland fires, leveraging new and emerging tools and technologies, and expanding attention on indoor air quality and the influence of multiple stressors on human health could help improve knowledge and reduce risks, Ravishankara noted.
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From page 50... ...
50 Wildland Fires: Toward Improved Understanding and Forecasting of Air Quality Impacts those to shape atmospheric chemistry research directions could provide new ways to make advances in protecting public health.
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