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Wildfire Smoke, Ash,
and Our Health
There are no air quality advisories currently in
effect for Santa Barbara County.
The 2008 fire season in Santa Barbara County started May 12.
When smoke or ash are in our air, we work with the County Public
Health Department to tell people to try to stay inside and avoid
outdoor exercise when the air is bad. It is hard to tell where ash
or soot from a wildfire will go, so we also ask everyone to use
common sense.
If you would like to be on an email list to receive advisories,
click here, and use subject
line "Subscribe to Advisories." To view advisories we have
issued in the past see this page.
How to protect yourself and your family from harmful effects of
wildfires:
- Prepare for fire season. Go to the county’s fire department
website http://www.sbcfire.com
and learn how to protect your home and make a Wildfire Action
Plan.
- If you smell smoke, or see a lot of particles and ash in the
air, use common sense. Everyone, especially people with
heart or lung disease (including asthma), older adults, and
children, should limit time spent outdoors, and avoid outdoor
exercise.
- If outdoor air is bad, try to keep indoor air as clean as
possible. Keep windows and doors closed — unless it's extremely
hot outside. If you have an air conditioner, run it with the
fresh air intake closed and the filter clean. Don’t use
fireplaces, gas logs, or candles, don’t vacuum, and don’t smoke.
- If you have symptoms of lung or heart disease that may be
related to smoke exposure, including repeated coughing,
shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, wheezing, chest
tightness or pain, palpitations, nausea or unusual fatigue or
lightheadedness, call your doctor.
- When smoke is heavy for a prolonged period of time, fine particles can
build up indoors even though you may not be able to see them. If you have
heart or lung disease, are an older adult, or have children, talk with your
doctor about whether and when you should leave the area.
To check readings of particle pollution at the
Santa Maria, Lompoc (H Street Station) and
Santa Barbara
stations, see
monitoring station
data page and use pull-down menu to select one of these stations.
Hourly readings for PM10 and for PM2.5 (different sizes of
particles) are provided. Levels of PM10 averaging higher than 150,
or levels of PM2.5 averaging higher than 35 are considered unhealthy
for sensitive groups. However, note that even if readings are relatively low
at these locations, smoke
and ash could still be affecting areas in the area.
Try to:
- Use damp cloths, spray areas lightly with water, and direct
ash-filled water to ground areas, and away from the runoff
system.
- Use vacuums with HEPA filters, sweep gently with a broom.
- Take your car to the car wash.
Try NOT to:
- Do anything that stirs the particles back up into the air.
- Hose down areas using large amounts of water, sending
contaminated water into the runoff systems, and into our creeks and
ocean.
DON’T: Use leaf blowers!
For more information...
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