Paradise California / Camp FIre

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That sucks Bermy. Hoping for the best for you guys for both control and regrowth.

Here studies that have been done are just starting to be released or make the news about the smoke exposure we've been getting exposed to with the new 'normal' of massive seasonal wildfires. Not good. Up to this point our government health officials have been saying all good, just short term exposure. Nothing to worry about. Yahhhh right.

https://www.castanet.net/news/BC/248596/Smoke-Chemical-soup
 
squisher said:
That sucks Bermy. Hoping for the best for you guys for both control and regrowth.

Here studies that have been done are just starting to be released or make the news about the smoke exposure we've been getting exposed to with the new 'normal' of massive seasonal wildfires. Not good. Up to this point our government health officials have been saying all good, just short term exposure. Nothing to worry about. Yahhhh right.

https://www.castanet.net/news/BC/248596/Smoke-Chemical-soup
Click to expand...

I'd take that with a grain of salt. The air we breath every day has traces of most if not way more than their list of the "Chemical Soup". There are lots of people that get very old smoking 2 packs a day. Something is going to kill every one of us, eventually.

Our wildland firefighters are and have been receiving very high doses of "forest fire smoke" for many years, delivered in 14 day exposures followed by a couple days R&R, wash rinse and repeat.

I'd put much more credence in a study that addresses the wildland firefighter's chronic exposure vs the "snowflake's" acute exposure.

I'm always somewhat entertained by the strong healthy residents that cease to be able to function due to the smoke, wallowing in their dust masks and self pity, while we head up the hill for another 16 hour day on the line protecting their vacation home.
 
Did you actually read the whole article?

Just curious how you ended up with the take on it that you did. I think there's many more people who die young from smoking two packs a day then there are those who grow old because of it? And just because we are all going to die of something some day I personally have not much interest in speeding up that process due to air pollution. Although I doubt there's much I can do about that?

The 'snowflake' thing is kind of weird to me thrown into this discussion. But sure do you have any interesting news/studies about wildland firefighters affected by smoke?

I do think it's good to stay abreast of health concerns and am glad it's being looked at. I never needed a scientist to tell me that breathing smoke is bad for you. But I still support studying it espescially in these times of increasing wildfire activity. Where I live in the okanagan has been dubbed the smokanagan because summers are becoming brutal. Way worse smoke events than we ever used to get. Probably similar to where you're at too I imagine? The last two years have seen over 15,500 square miles burned in BC
 
I don't mean to offend you, nor do I imply I think you are a snowflake.

I've been in fire, and specializing in wildfire for 25 years. I'm not too far south of you. Yes, I read the whole article. I agree there is a lot of smoke in recent years. I'm sure it won't prolong your life or mine. My point is that if they really want to see the effects of the smoke that is generated in a wildfire, they should look to the guys/gals that are immersed in it for weeks and months at a time on the front lines, not raise the fears of the public. The firefighters are the ones that get exposed the most. If the exposure to the public was really a big deal and it was truly a life threatening exposure, the wildland firefighter should be dying in droves as their exposure is dramatically higher.


The snowflake thing: Well I tend to believe most studies come from universities and such and I believe they have a "snowflake" view of things, generally. I view the people who think they are going to die from the smoke while they are at their main home, away from the fire as said snowflakes. They keep building their "cabins" and "vacation homes" further and further into the trees and then, they can't deal with it when those trees burn as most of them a woefully unprepared. They expect the government to go save their stuff for them. The government saves their stuff by sending guys like me to go eat smoke.


Wildfire smoke isn't anything compared to smoke from burning structures, that's the bad stuff.

I'd be interested in how they propose we solve this problem.
 
:thumbup:


I think they do look at it for firefighters, wild land and residential too. But this study was just more for the general public. I ironically enough work inquite a smokey environment now anyways. A plywood plant where giant ovens dry veneer.
 
At least we have a 'presumptive illness' cover for volunteer and career firefighters...a whole range of cancers and illnesses that if you fall ill with one of them they will presume it was from your exposure as a firefighter and you get coverage.
 
Ohhh shit!
Our fires are calming down now, I'm due to go back up on Sunday...we had a request for a three day deployment down south...couldn't make it, medical appointments.
Where a week ago we were still actively protecting assets in 30+* heat...today it is 2* and it snowed last night, crazy! Still plenty of hotspots that could flare if we get a run of warm dry weather again.
 
Scary picture Steve.

In those situations Bermy, whilst dealing with wildfires, what would you typically be doing?

I mean, holding hoses or evacuation or directing planes?
 
Well it depends Mick, if you get called right at the beginning, usually a pager alert after a 000 call in our area, it can be everything from hopping out and getting wet stuff on hot stuff, right through to calling for more resources and helping direct them.
It also depends on your rank and skill set and the size of the incident, single brigade, multi brigade.
On big campaign fires where Incident Management is set up, you report in and are assigned a sector and work on the plan for that sector under a sector commander. We did control of backburns that had been authorized and set, we did structure protection... moving flammable stuff, setting perimeters, waiting, waiting, we did blacking out of hotspots, aka dragging lots of hoses for hrs in end.
 
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