In case you have n’t find out , a massive wildfireis currently bedevil across the drouth - parched landscape painting of Butte County in Northern California .

Despite the misleadingly innocent name of the Camp Fire , the hell has ravaged 57,500 hectares ( 142,000 Akka ) in the 11 days since it ignited outside the small rural township of Paradise , near Chico . Having take the lives of at least 77 people ( almost 1,000 more are currently reported as missing ) and destroyed more than 12,000 structure , the Camp Fire is now the deadliest and most destructive wildfire instate account .

lend to the fire’sdevastating human impact , winds have been blowing the toxic locoweed Mae West , directly into the highly populated Sacramento realm and Bay Area . At the time of writing , the air quality forefinger in San Francisco and the East Bay ranged between about 200 to 320   – hazardous level consider to represent a population - wide wellness emergency . The inland East Bay community of Tracy was appraise at 404 , 2d only to area immediately near Paradise .

establish on National Weather Service guideline , multitude living in these communities have been encourage to stay inside , and many schooltime and business were close on Friday , when dope pollution peaked .

The zephyr quality indicant ( AQI ) measurement being used by monitoring platforms such as the Environmental Protection Agency ( EPA)-runAirNowand the privately operatedPurpleAiris based on the concentration of a category of particulate matter mattercalled PM2.5 . Though smoke may look gas - like , it is actually composed of aerosolise solid and liquid atom that are the byproducts of the combustion . Depending on what is being burned , the result particulate matter matter will vary in toxicity ( i.e. a tire fire is more dangerous than a wood balefire ) , however , all smoke is dangerous due to the high proportion of small particles thateasily absorbthrough your lung tissue into your blood stream and enter single cells .

As the name hints , the PM2.5 category let in all liquified droplets and strong particles that value 2.5 micrometers in diam ( about one - thirtieth the width of a human hair ) or smaller .

“ These microscopical particles can get into your eyes and respiratory system , where they can make health problems such as burning eyes , runny nozzle , and illness such as bronchitis,”the EPA writes . “ Fine atom also can exacerbate chronic heart and lung diseases   – and even are linked to premature deaths in masses with these conditions . ”

allot to the World Health Organization’sAir Quality Guidelines , the good limit for PM2.5 concentration in the line is 10 µg / m3 per day average out across the twelvemonth , and no more than 25 µg / m3 during one 24 - hour stop . As report bySFGate , the PM2.5 concentration in the Bay Area was 225 µg / m3 the day after the Camp Fire ignited , and has likely stayed nearly or even surpassed that level in many California regions throughout the past week . To put it in a dissimilar perspective , Voxcitesresearchthat likens smoke one coffin nail to an air pollution of 22 μg / m3 for one twenty-four hours ; thus , residents of the North Bay and northeast foothills have been inspire the eq of eight cigarettes .

To protect yourself from the health effects of wildfire smoke if you do venture outdoors , the EPA recommends cover your cheek with an N95 respirator or P100 mask . The filter on these mask block out most particles of 2.5 micron or below .