How to protect yourself from California wildfires and ash impacts

Fires continue to burn in California and breathing in smoke can be harmful—but there are ways to protect yourself and your family.

Wildfire smoke contains tiny pieces of burnt wood, plants and other materials called particulate matter.

Some of this particulate matter measures 2.5 micrometers or smaller in size—that’s less than 0.0001 inch—and is called PM2.5.

PM2.5 is particularly dangerous because it can enter deep into the lungs, travel into the bloodstream and then affect other organs in the body.

Contact with wildfire smoke and ash can result in immediate symptoms, as it irritates the eyes, nose, throat and lungs, which may include stinging eyes, runny nose, scratchy throat, coughing, sneezing, chest tightness, wheezing, rapid or irregular heartbeat and excessive fatigue.

In the longer term, exposure can lead to raised levels of inflammation in the body and increase the risk of developing several health conditions, including dementia, lung cancer, asthma, eczema, lung disease, high blood pressure and brain cancer.

Certain people are more vulnerable, including people with preexisting health conditions, pregnant people and young children.

So, it is important to limit the amount of smoke and ash, and particularly PM2.5, that you breathe in during wildfires.

This means regularly checking air quality index levels for your area and listening to the Emergency Alert System to know the risks in your area.

You can limit exposure to wildfire smoke by staying indoors, avoiding doing outdoor exercise and shutting doors and windows to keep the smoke out.

If you do have to go outside, consider wearing a protective mask. The mask should fit well, with a tight seal around the nose and mouth, and good filtration—such as an N94 or P100 mask if possible, or a KN95 mask otherwise.

You can protect your eyes by wearing goggles and protect your skin by wearing long-sleeved clothes and covering up as much as possible.

In your home, prioritize air quality. Run your heating and air conditioning on recirculate and use filters and air purifiers.

Avoid activities that would worsen your indoor air quality, such as vacuuming, frying food, smoking, vaping, burning candles, burning incense or using a fireplace.

When in your car, put the air on recirculate mode to keep the smoke out and keep the windows closed.

Consider evacuating, if that’s an option available to you. Depending on where you live and how the fires progress, you may be asked to evacuate, so make a plan for how you might do so. The U.S. Government has some advice for how to do this at www.ready.gov/evacuation.

Is there a health problem that’s worrying you? Do you have a question about wildfire smoke? Let us know via health@newsweek.com. We can ask experts for advice and your story could be featured in Newsweek.