Patricio Gonzalez, 12, foreground, and his family ride bikes near their home in Fresno, Calif., where smoke from the Creek Fire in the Sierra National Forest has been problem for air quality, on Oct. 22, 2020.
Her latest research suggests that exposure to wildfire smoke, which contains the same particulate pollution and more, is associated with genetic changes in children’s immune cells. “It could,” she said, “have irreversible consequences.” “Everything about this area screams bad air quality,” Patricio said. “If you had a child with asthma or any person in your household with asthma and you wanted to move into this area, it’s not a good idea. I don’t recommend it.”
Fresno and its neighboring counties in the Central Valley rank first in the country for particulate matter pollution, according to the American Lung Association. Its childhood asthma rates are far higher than the statewide average. Several busy highways pass through Fresno. Dust and chemicals swirl up from the fields. Smoke gets stuck for long stretches of time until the winds can blow it westward to the Pacific.
Zarate, a waitress, cannot stay home. This month, she got called to work at a large banquet. “I couldn’t believe it,” Zarate-Gonzalez said. “Essential workers doing the only thing they can do to pay their bills, while risking their lives.” Within 10 minutes, her face turned red. Her arms broke out in hives, then her stomach. Her chest tightened. “It was stressful and scary, so I started crying,” Robin said. “Not hyperventilating, but freaking out, kind of.”
Unlike the Central Valley, the air in the San Francisco Bay Area is gloriously clean for much of the year, and Robin can usually keep her asthma in check. She plays lacrosse and soccer. Her private school shuts down for a few days at a time when wildfire smoke is bad. She is in a clinical trial, supervised by Nadeau, to overcome her allergies.
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