How to protect yourself from smoke caused by forest fires

You don't have to Live near a forest fire be affected by smoke. With strong winds attracting fires in and around the Pacific palisades, the Pasadena Foothills and the Simi valley, huge southland bands face dangerous air quality.

Forest fire smoke can irritate your eyes, nose, throat and lungs. SUIE can contain all kinds of dangerous pollutants, including some that can cause cancer. The smallest smoke particles can move deep into your lungs or even enter your blood circulation.

Conditions like these are not good for anyone, but they are particularly bad for people in vulnerable groups, including children, those who suffer from asthma or other respiratory diseases, people with heart disease and those who are pregnant.

Here is what you need to know to ensure safe.

Stay inside

Minimize your exposure to unhealthy air while staying inside and keeping your doors and closed windows.

If you have a central heating and air conditioning system, you can keep your indoor air clean by turning it on and keeping it on. Make sure the fresh air intake is closed so that you do not draw the outside air.

Keep your animals inside

They should not breathe unhealthy air either.

Check your air filters

Clean filters work better than dirty filters and high -efficiency filters work better than ordinary filters. California Air Resources Board and South Coast Air Quality Management District recommend filters with a Merv 13 or more.

You could consider using a high portable air cleaner in a room where you spend the most time. The American environmental protection agency has Information about them hereand carbohydrate has A list of cleaning devices certified here.

Do not pollute your indoor air

This means no candles or burning incense. If your diet is out and you should see in the dark, you are much better with a flashlight or a front lamp.

If you are cold, group together. Now is not the time to trigger a comfortable fire in the fireplace. Do not use a gas stove or wood aircraft, as they will worsen your indoor air, no better, says the AQMD.

The CDC also advises against the vacuum cleaner, as it can arouse dust and release thin particles in the air.

Pay attention to cleaning

You don't want your skin to come into contact with forest ashes. This means that you should wear long sleeves, pants, gloves, socks and shoes. The AQMD even wants you wearing glasses.

If you sweep the ashes on the outside, get a hose and fuck it first with water. This will prevent it from flying in the air when you move it. Once the ashes are wet, sweep it gently with a broom or a mop. Place it in a plastic bag and throw it away.

It is a good idea to wash your vehicles and your toys outdoors if they are covered with ashes. Try not to send ash water to storm drains. Directing dirty water in land areas instead, advises the AQMD.

Those with pulmonary or heart problems should avoid cleaning activities.

Throw out spoiled foods …

If you have lost electricity for a large period, the foods of your refrigerator or freezer can be spoiled.

Food kept in a fridge must remain safe for up to four hours if you have kept the door closed. If you have been without being without being for longer than that, you will have to launch all the perishable items, including meat, poultry, fish, eggs, milk and cut fruits and vegetables. All that with “an odor, a color or an unusual texture” must also be thrown, According to the US Centers for Disease and Control Prevention.

Refrigerated drugs should be correct unless the power has come out for more than a day. Check the label to make sure.

… even if it was in the freezer

Your freezer can be in better shape, especially if it is well supplied. Items in a full freezer can be safe up to 48 hours if it is kept closed, and a half full freezer can be OK for 24 hours. (Frozen items help keep cold, so the best is best.)

If the items have remained less than 40 degrees Fahrenheit (4 degrees Celsius) or if you can always see ice crystals, they may be ok to use or refresh, According to the Federal Government Food Security website.

The ice cream and icy yogurt should be thrown if the power goes out for a while. Meat, poultry, seafood, eggs, milk and most other dairy products should go if they were exposed to temperatures above 40 degrees F for two hours or more. The same goes for frozen meals, pans, soups, stews and cakes, pies and pastries with garnishes of pastry cream or cheese.

Fruit and fruit juices that have started to thaw can be refined unless they are not starting to become moldy, viscous or yeast. Vegetables and vegetable juices should be thrown if they have been greater than 40 degrees F for six hours or more, even if they seem and smell well.

Breakfast items such as waffles and bagels can be refined, as are breads, rolls, muffins and other bakery products without English cream fittings.

Consider an alternative shelter

If you have done everything you can but your eyes are still watering, you cannot stop coughing, or you don't feel good, look for an alternative shelter where air quality is better.

Hold a vigorous exercise

Doing anything that would make you breathe deeper is a bad idea right now.

Hide outside

If you need to be outside for an extended time, be sure to wear a high quality mask. A surgical mask or a fabric mask will not cut it – the health authorities agree that you should reach a N95 or P -100 support with a tight seal.

Are young children more at risk of smoke from forest fires?

Very young children are particularly vulnerable to Forest smoke effects Because their lungs still develop quickly. And because they breathe much faster than adults, they absorb more toxic particles compared to their tiny body, which can trigger inflammation, cough and whistling breathing.

Any type of air pollution can be dangerous for young children, but forest fire smoke is approximately 10 times as toxic to children compared to air pollution from fossil fuels on fire, said Dr Lisa Patel, Associate Professor of Clinical Pediatrics at Stanford Children's Health. Young children with preexisting respiratory problems such as asthma are even more at risk.

Patel advises parents to keep their young children inside as much as possible, to create a safe room in their house with an air purifier and try to avoid using gas stoves to avoid polluting indoor air.

Children over 2 years old should also wear a well -adjusted KN95 mask if they will be outside for a long time. Infants and toddlers younger than those who do not need to mask because it can represent a risk of suffocation, said Patel.

What are the risks for pregnant people?

The speakers should also take additional precautions around the smoke of forest fires, which can cross the placenta and affect a development fetus. Studies have shown that exposure to forest smoke during pregnancy can increase the risk of Premature birth and low birth weight. Researchers have also linked Toxic smoke chemicals with maternal health complications including hypertension and preeclampsia.

What about other high-risk populations?

Certain chronic diseases, including asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases or other respiratory diseases can also make you particularly vulnerable to forest smoke. People with heart disease, diabetes and chronic kidney disease should take additional care to breathe clean air, The CDC says. The tiny particles in forest smoke can worsen existing health problems and can make heart attacks or accidents Warning carbohydrates.

Prepare for the next emergency

Living in southern California means that another forest fire is coming sooner or later. To prepare for the bad air, you can:

• Fill up on disposable respirators, such as N95 or P-100.
• Have clean filters ready for your air conditioning system and modify them when things become smoked.
• Know how to check the air quality where you live and work. AQMD has a interactive card which is updated every hour. Just type an address and he will zoom in on the location. You can also Register to get air quality alerts by email or on your smartphone.
• Note where your fire extinguisher is and keep it at hand.
• If you have a heart or pulmonary state, keep at least five days of medication at hand.

Times editor Karen Garcia contributed to this report.