Time to fight fire with fire! Literally!
This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science.
Wildfires destroy homes and fill the air with harmful smoke. To reduce damage, land managers sometimes light fires on purpose. Carefully controlled, low-intensity burns can minimize future fire risk. But what about the air we breathe?
Enter Laura Kiely and team from University of California Riverside. They used computer models to compare real wildfires with prescribed burns. They factored in emissions from fires, weather, and land conditions to simulate real-world impacts.
The results? Prescribed burns reduced the amount of harmful particles by over FIFTY PERCENT compared to wildfires!
So with a controlled burn, we can all breathe easier! *Sigh*
Reference: Kiely, L., Neyestani, S. E., Binte-Shahid, S., York, R. A., Porter, W. C. et al. California case study of wildfires and prescribed burns: PM₂.₅ emissions, concentrations, and implications for human health. Environ Sci Technol 58, 5210–5219 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.3c06421