© 2024 Boise State Public Radio
NPR in Idaho
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Apple's latest iOS (17.4) is preventing our livestreams from playing. We suggest you download the free Boise State Public Radio app & stream us there while we work to troubleshoot the issue.
From air quality concerns to evacuations, wildfires impact pretty much everyone. We've rounded up some resources to make sure you're prepared as we head into Idaho's wildfire season.

How A New Study About Wildfire Smoke Could Help Firefighters

Inciweb
A large plume of smoke over the Marston Fire in northern Idaho.

Forest Service researchers are taking a closer look at how wildfire smoke impacts the people most exposed to it. A five-year study will monitor the carbon monoxide levels of firefighters around the country.

Joe Domitrovich is one of the researchers on the study, based in Montana. He's a firefighter himself and knows firsthand the kind of risks that are taken by people on the job – smoke being one of many. 

"Smoke is just one of the components we have to face everyday," says Domitrovich. "However, we don't know a lot about how smoke affects our short-term and long-term health effects. So hopefully this study will allow us to be more educated."

Domitrovich says concern over long-term smoke exposure was first looked at after the 1988 Yellowstone fires, when firefighters couldn’t get a break from smoke for weeks. But, he says, researchers didn’t have the technology then to really understand the impacts. Monitors can now test toxin levels in real time.

Domitrovich and his research partner plan to work with about 500 firefighters across the country, and want to look at the ways different fuels produce different smoke. He says one of the surprising findings so far has been that smoke is most dangerous after the initial blaze is out, during the phase known as "mop up" when logs and brush continue to smolder and produce thick smoke. 

“As we deal with these risks on a minute-by-minute basis sometimes out there, it will help our firefighters make more informed decisions on how they’re operationally going to work in that fire environment.”

Find Frankie Barnhill on Twitter @FABarnhill

Copyright 2015 Boise State Public Radio

Frankie Barnhill was the Senior Producer of Idaho Matters, Boise State Public Radio's daily show and podcast.

You make stories like this possible.

The biggest portion of Boise State Public Radio's funding comes from readers like you who value fact-based journalism and trustworthy information.

Your donation today helps make our local reporting free for our entire community.