SANTA CLARITA, Calif. (NewsNation) — While some wildfires across the West were more under control, many were still burning, causing smoke to drift to the east. The double health risk of both wildfire smoke and coronavirus, has doctors doubling down on the importance of masking properly in affected areas.
One pulmonary specialist said she is especially concerned because smoke from wildfires in Northern California has been heading right into Utah
“It’s an unfortunate convergence of two bad risks.,” said Dr. Cheryl Pirozzi at the University of Utah. “We are seeing a lot of people with underlying health disease coming in with exacerbated respiratory symptoms related to the wildfire smoke exposure.”
The exposure can also impact the healthy. Doctors say tiny particles from the smoke pollution can irritate the lungs and affect the immune system, making people more susceptible to all infections, not just COVID-19.
Dr. Reza Ranaghi, a pulmonologist at UCLA Medical Center stresses that like COVID, pollution is another invisible danger.
“We’re talking very, very tiny molecules and particles, and these, to give you an idea are probably one third the size of a hair strand,” said Ranaghi. “So these are very small particle sizes, these are the ones that we worry about, can affect our lungs, can affect our health.”
Residents in all effected areas are advised to stay indoors on high pollution days. And when heading out, the typical cloth masks worn to prevent COVID are not enough.
“The masks that we usually want to use in fires are the N95 and the ones that give a perfect seal around our face to prevent those micro particles from being able to enter the lung and cause diseas,” said Ranaghi.
Due to the pandemic, N95 masks are in short supply with priority given to health professionals.
Doctors stress the importance of tracking air pollution and adhering to local warnings to stay indoors. They say smoky air that you can see or smell should be considered dangerous and a health threat.