Soot,
ash and smoke spark serious health concerns
 Samantha
Britland/On-line Forty-Niner
LOS
ANGELES (AP) -- The fires burning across
Southern California have left millions with
a scratching in their throats and a burning
in their eyes -- telltale signs of the significant
health risks the smoke and soot clouding
the entire region can pose, officials said
Monday.
The
same Santa Ana winds that have whipped up
the frenzy of firestorms pushed smoke toward
the populous coast, casting a gritty pall
over the Los Angeles and San Diego metropolitan
regions.
''You
can see the ash and stuff on the ground
and just think all that is in the air, getting
in your eyes and nose and mouth,'' said
Vicki Dawes, 59, as she looked toward an
ash-filled area of her San Bernardino neighborhood
where fires destroyed 200 homes.
Health
officials have issued repeated smoke advisories
for much of Southern California in recent
days, warning that the gritty soot that
chokes the sky has reached unhealthy levels
in the areas closest to the fires.
Literally
anyone who can see, taste or smell smoke
should curtail outdoor activity, officials
warned.
''We
recommend a common sense approach: Avoid
it if you can,'' said Jean Ospital, health
effects officer for the South Coast Air
Quality Management District, the air pollution
agency that oversees the greater Los Angeles
area.
The
Santa Anas began to diminish Monday, but
spotty gusts were expected through Tuesday.
By
then, winds were expected to begin blowing
onshore, which may re-circulate the vast
amount of smoke already in the Los Angeles
basin, AQMD spokesman Sam Atwood said.
People
suffering from heart disease, lung disease
or asthma should avoid the outdoors entirely,
as should children and the elderly, said
Dr. Jonathan Fielding, public health officer
for Los Angeles County.
Schools
were being asked to limit outdoor sports,
Fielding said.
''It's
good advice for everybody today not to do
too much outdoor vigorous activity,'' Fielding
said.
Smoke
contains literally hundreds of chemicals,
including formaldehyde, and gases like carbon
monoxide.
It's
also packed with vast quantities of microscopic
particles that are easily inhaled into the
lungs, where they can become permanently
lodged.
Prolonged
exposure to particulate pollution has been
linked to retarded lung growth.
Levels
of the particles, one-seventh the diameter
of human hair or smaller, have spiked in
areas closest to the fires.
In
the San Bernardino area, where fire has
burned more than 75,000 acres of brush,
sending towering plumes of smoke into the
air, particulate levels were forecast to
hit 300 micrograms per cubic meter of air
on Monday.
Farther
south, in Escondido, particulate levels
were at 90 micrograms. Levels between 40
and 65 are considered unhealthy for the
area, San Diego County Supervisor Greg Cox
said.
''So
you can see the magnitude of what we are
talking about,'' Cox said.
At
San Diego's airport, Lindbergh Field, workers
wore masks to protect from the rain of ash.
''I
don't like it. You can't breathe,'' said
Livia Guerrero, a security guard, whose
home east of San Diego was caked with ash
from nearby fires.
''I'll
probably try to spend most of the day inside.
I really wanted to stay home,'' Guerrero
said. ''I'm kind of worried about my house.''
St.
Bernardine Medical Center in San Bernardino
reported no immediate increase in patients
complaining of smoke-related problems, spokeswoman
Kimberly Vandenbosch said.
''We
just haven't seen the big increase yet,''
Vandenbosch said.
Health
officials were uncertain about the long-term
effects of the smoke. It was also unclear
whether it would contribute to a short-term
uptick in deaths, Fielding said.
''We'll
look to see if there's any spike associated
with this period. My hope and expectation
is there won't be -- unless this goes significantly
longer,'' Fielding said.
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