SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The deadliest wildfire in California history spewed a toxic cocktail of air pollution that could be detected 150 miles away.
A study released Monday by the California Air Resources Board said the 2018 Camp fire subjected area residents to unhealthy levels of particulate matter, zinc, lead and other dangerous chemicals.
The report came as California struggles with the early onset of another difficult wildfire season, with more than 142,000 acres burned already.
Yet the air board's study said the Camp fire was particularly noxious because of the extraordinary number of buildings that burned down, releasing an unusually high volume of chemicals into the air. The November 2018 fire, which killed 85 people, destroyed more than 10,000 homes in Paradise and surrounding areas.
The study compared the air pollution effect of the Camp fire with three other big fires from 2018 — Carr, Mendocino Complex and Ferguson — and discovered that the destruction of buildings in Paradise unleashed considerably more toxicity into the air.
"When wildfires burn structures, they produce a range of harmful and toxic substances," the air board's study said.. "CARB's analysis shows this was indeed the case during the Camp Fire, when elevated levels of lead and zinc were detected, as well as calcium, iron and manganese.
"Some of these metals traveled more than 150 miles, and were detected in the air as far away as San Jose and Modesto."
The findings weren't a surprise to Paradise Mayor Steve Crowder, who has vivid memories of breathing the smoky air.
"If you lived anywhere around the fire, it was a smoke haven," Crowder said. "We had cars burn, we had streets burn. Vegetation, homes, barns. ... We were all breathing that."
Elevated levels of lead in the air can affect kidneys and nervous systems and cause other health problems, according to the federal Environmental Protection Agency. Zinc can lead to a malady called "metal fume fever," which can cause fatigue, chills and fever.
Exposure to particulate matter — basically, dust and soot that can seep into the lungs — has been linked to increased severity of asthma, bronchitis and pneumonia.
"The short-term spikes in particulate matter from the Camp fire and other wildfires included in this analysis were comparable to industrial and mobile source pollution levels seen in countries like China and India," the air board report said.
"Both countries show subsequent increases in respiratory diseases and infections, and chronic heart and lung disease, resulting in increased medical visits, hospital admissions, and risk of death."
Dr. Robert Bernstein, the Butte County health officer, said severe air pollution events are usually accompanied by increased cases of asthma, emphysema and other respiratory diseases. But it's very difficult to prove that the pollution caused the illnesses without "very sophisticated lab-supported investigations," he said in an email.
The air board's report isn't the first evidence of the impacts of toxic chemicals released by the Camp fire. The fire left Paradise's drinking water laced with benzene, knocking the system out of commission and forcing the town's remaining population to rely on bottled water for months.
