Wildfire Smoke Affecting Millions of Americans, Report Warns

Wildfires are putting more and more Americans at risk, and not just those in the path of the blaze. In 2011, more than 200 million were affected by harmful wildfire smoke as it drifted across state and county lines, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) warns in a new report entitled "Where There's Fire, There's Smoke."

The study determined that the area affected by smoke is roughly 50 times greater than the area burned by fire, with about two-thirds of Americans affected in 2011, one of the worst years for wildfires in recent decades.

Health risks tied to smoke exposure include asthma attacks, pneumonia and serious chronic lung diseases.

"There's trouble in the wind: What blazes in Texas rarely stays in Texas," said Kim Knowlton, a senior scientist in NRDC's Health and Environment Program and analysis director. "Wildfire smoke can pose serious health risks to people hundreds of miles away from the sources of fires. "

Moreover, with scientists predicting increased temperatures due to global warming, the number of people affected is likely to rise, Knowlton notes.

"Wildfire smoke already clouds the skies of millions of Americans and because climate change will fuel more wildfires, that danger will rise."

The state with the greatest number of residents affected by wildfire smoke in 2011 was Texas at 25 million. Illinois was second, with nearly 12 million and Florida third at just over 11 million. Missouri, Georgia, Louisiana, Michigan, Alabama, Oklahoma and Iowa followed, rounding out the top 10.

"The clear takeaway is that wildfires, smoke and the conditions that increase fire risk are national health concerns that spread well beyond the borders of local fire perimeters, conditions that are only projected to worsen with climate change," the report reads.

Ways to guard against not only smoke, but other forms of air pollution, is needed in order to protect individuals from the potentially life-threatening health effects caused by air pollution, the researchers state.

"Communities need safeguards against this peril," Knowlton said, "and our country needs standards to curb the unlimited carbon pollution from power plants that's driving climate change."