UC Davis

Our report examines the connections between forest management, wildfire smoke, and human health through interviews with health sector organizations in California and a review of the scientific literature. We highlight the knowledge gaps and the data, research, and collaborations needed to effectively fill them, as well as steps the State of California, the federal government, and others can take to ensure the improved health of all who live under frequently smoky skies. Broadly, we find:

1.  Wildfire smoke impacts human health and health sector organizations’ workforces, operations, and ability to provide services, yet the costs are largely unquantified. Quantifying these costs would enable state and local health sector organizations to make more informed decisions regarding budgeting, resource allocation, and response.

2.  Many interviewed health sector organizations see value in future engagement with forest management to mitigate adverse outcomes and costs associated with wildfire smoke, but require avenues for collaboration and more information on the potential benefits of forest management to human health and the health sector.

3.  Comprehensive statewide and/or locally specific information on the adverse human health impacts of wildfire smoke are not readily available but could be generated from additional analysis of existing data resources. The data and methodologies to support the above understanding require thoughtful, forward-looking, collaborative, coordinated research design that is informed by use cases appropriate for California.

4.  A small but growing body of research suggests that management to improve forest health can be tailored to reduce total smoke impacts and benefit human health. Informed prioritization of management strategies that promote forest resilience and human health across California’s many landscapes will benefit from filling data gaps relating the costs and efficacy of various treatments under different conditions.