Mapping clean air centers to protect residents against wildfire risks
Men watch the Thompson Fire as wildfires continue in Oroville of Butte County in California, on July 2, 2024. Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images
As wildfire smoke or poor air quality descends upon California residents, officials hope a data map will help them find pockets of fresh air across the state.
California has already seen more than 3,500 wildfires so far this year, in what state officials earlier this week called a “significantly more active [season] than the last five years.”
With an estimated 207,415 acres of land burned—or roughly the length of 150,000 football fields—and 10 wildfires still burning, officials are concerned about how they are impacting residents and their well-being. Exposure to wildfire smoke and the resulting poor air quality is linked to respiratory complications, cardiovascular risks and other adverse health conditions. In fact, a recent study found it has contributed to more than 52,000 premature deaths between 2008 and 2018.
A new map recently released by the California Air Resources Board, or CARB, looks to help residents find areas of refuge across the state. Using the map, individuals can locate clean air centers, or facilities with air filtration systems or other similar appliances, they can travel to if their area is impacted by wildfire smoke and other air pollutants.
The clean air centers are existing sites like libraries and senior centers that include features such as upgraded ventilation systems or portable air cleaners, said Patrick Wong, air resources supervisor at CARB.
The map populates active clean air centers and provides information like their hours of operation and how many individuals can be served at the location.
CARB collaborated with local air districts responsible for regional air quality management, planning and monitoring to develop the map as a “one-stop shop,” said Kate Lamb, information officer at CARB. The map was built using geographical information system technology from the mapping software company Esri.
Lamb said officials in recent years have received an increasing number of inquiries about clean air centers, and the map helps fill that information gap without individuals depending on a government employee to respond to them.
The map has only been live for a few weeks, but Wong said it could eventually help officials identify underserved areas where clean air centers could be developed to ensure equitable air quality improvement efforts. He pointed to a 2019 bill signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom to support the $5 million Wildfire Smoke Clean Air Centers for Vulnerable Populations Incentive Pilot Program aimed at creating a statewide network of clean air centers. The program funds retrofits for buildings like community centers, schools, sports complexes and other public-serving facilities, to offer vulnerable residents places of refuge during periods of poor air quality.
The map will help support the pilot program’s mission to expand awareness of and access to the statewide clean air centers, Lamb said.
As more and more parts of the country are exposed to wildfire smoke—like the Northeast last year with the Canadian wildfires—this capability could appeal to other states as well.
In the next few weeks, Lamb said CARB aims to add data on clean air centers to its California Smoke Spotter App, which provides community residents information on nearby wildfires and burns.
“We’re really expecting [the map] to be something that grows and changes,” Lamb said. “With any new program, you have learnings and you refine that.”
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