title: Air-Quality Impacts and Intake Fraction of PM2.5during the 2013 Rim Megafire.
abstract: The 2013 Rim Fire was the third largest wildfire in California history and burned 257 314 acres in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. We evaluated air-quality impacts of PM2.5from smoke from the Rim Fire on receptor areas in California and Nevada. We employed two approaches to examine the air-quality impacts: (1) an evaluation of PM2.5concentration data collected by temporary and permanent air-monitoring sites and (2) an estimation of intake fraction (iF) of PM2.5from smoke. The Rim Fire impacted locations in the central Sierra nearest to the fire and extended to the northern Sierra Nevada Mountains of California and Nevada monitoring sites. Daily 24-h average PM2.5concentrations measured at 22 air monitors had an average concentration of 20 μg/m3and ranged from 0 to 450 μg/m3. The iF for PM2.5from smoke during the active fire period was 7.4 per million, which is slightly higher than representative iF values for PM2.5in rural areas and much lower than for urban areas. This study is a unique application of intake fraction to examine emissions-to-exposure for wildfires and emphasizes that air-quality impacts are not only localized to communities near large fires but can extend long distances and affect larger urban areas.
authors.affiliation: Division of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of California-Berkeley , Berkeley, California 94720, United States.
authors.forename: Kathleen M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Navarro
authors.affiliation: School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts, University of California-Merced , Merced, California 95343, United States.
authors.forename: Ricardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Cisneros
authors.affiliation: Pacific Northwest Research Station, USDA Forest Service , Seattle, Washington 98103, United States.
authors.forename: Susan M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: O'Neill
authors.affiliation: School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts, University of California-Merced , Merced, California 95343, United States.
authors.forename: Don
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Schweizer
authors.affiliation: Pacific Northwest Research Station, USDA Forest Service , Seattle, Washington 98103, United States.
authors.forename: Narasimhan K
authors.initials: NK
authors.lastname: Larkin
authors.affiliation: Division of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of California-Berkeley , Berkeley, California 94720, United States.
authors.forename: John R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Balmes
mesh_terms: D000393:Air Pollutants; D002140:California; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D005390:Fires; D006801:Humans; D009505:Nevada; D052638:Particulate Matter; D012906:Smoke
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D052638:Particulate Matter; D012906:Smoke