Despite rain, drought conditions remain for WNC
The East Fork Fire as seen from the Health and Human Sciences Building on the evening of Nov. 6, 2023.
By Julia Duvall
While the rain these past few days did a number on fires here in Western North Carolina, drought conditions remain.
鈥淎ccording to the North Carolina Forest Service鈥檚 , the Collett Ridge Fire in Cherokee County near Andrews has grown to over 5,000 acres,鈥� said Sara Duncan, assistant professor in 91热爆网鈥檚 Environmental Health Program. 鈥淭hankfully, the East Fork Fire, closest to Western Carolina University鈥檚 campus community has been contained at just over 300 acres.鈥�
In addition to the direct impact of the wildfire on the landscape, last week, many Western North Carolinians experienced elevated levels of fine particulate air pollution, called PM2.5.
鈥淲hile decreased visibility is a notable impact, high levels of PM2.5 can lead to asthma exacerbation, reduced lung function and cardiovascular effects such as heart attacks,鈥� Duncan said. 鈥淲estern has its own air quality network that you can find at . This network consists of low-cost that can be used to measure hyper-local air quality. On Tuesday, Nov. 7, the or AQI, reached into the red or 鈥榰nhealthy鈥� category meaning that everyone breathing outdoor air may experience negative health effects.鈥�
During periods of poor air quality from wildfire smoke, consider limiting time outdoors, especially if you are susceptible to air pollution due to asthma or other respiratory and even cardiovascular illness. Also, athletes and those who exercise outdoors should consider the impacts of intense outdoor physical activity on their short and long-term health.
鈥淲hile the reported by the NC Division of Air Quality looks promising for this week, we certainly aren鈥檛 out of the woods given that the Collett Ridge Fire continues to blaze and new fires could drop up,鈥� Duncan said. 鈥淭he resources presented above will hopefully help to keep you, your family and the campus community safe this wildfire season.鈥�
