In recent months, concern about the health risks wildland firefighters face has been growing. Now a major conference exploring that issue has started in Colorado.
Over the summer, the New York Times published a series of stories documenting what it called an “occupational health crisis” due to the heavy smoke that wildland firefighters breathe without respiratory protection. During a U.S. House oversight hearing last month, members pressed the U.S. Forest Service chief on the issue. Certain masks are now available for voluntary use, and federal officials are studying further changes.
“A lot of moving parts,” said Luke Montrose, who runs a lab at Colorado State University that focuses heavily on smoke and firefighter health. He’s the organizer of the Rocky Mountain Wildfire Smoke Symposium, which started Monday in Loveland, Colo. Its theme this year: Working to Protect Those Who Work in Smoke.
“I'm hoping to meet the moment, and leverage the fact that this is on the tip of everyone's tongue,” he said. “This is on everyone's mind.”
“What we want to make sure of is that the researchers, the practitioners, the firefighters, the firefighter leadership and the policy makers are all on the same page,” he added. “And one way to do that is by creating a platform that gives everyone a seat at the table, and that is what we have tried to do.”
While wildland firefighters will be a focus of the conference, Montrose said that dangers faced by others toiling outside in the smoke – like agricultural and construction workers – will also be discussed.
This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between Boise State Public Radio, Wyoming Public Media, Nevada Public Radio, KUNR in Nevada, KUNC in Northern Colorado, KANW in New Mexico, Colorado Public Radio and KJZZ in Arizona as well as NPR, with support from affiliate newsrooms across the region. Funding for the Mountain West News Bureau is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and Eric and Wendy Schmidt.
