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Wildfires Essay

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Wildfires don’t just affect the land itself and the wildlife. They have an affect on the people living on the land. Idahoans experience evacuations, property damage, injuries, and long term economic effects yearly. University of Idaho professor and fire ecologist, Crystal Kolden, called this the “the cascading effects of fire” (as cited in Barker, 2015, para.10). Here are some examples of how wildfires affect the people of Idaho. Wildfires threaten the health of Idahoans. Researches have identified some of the effects of wildfire smoke including, “Cardiovascular effects and ocular problems ... as well as acute burns.” There is also research being done on the how toxic wildfire smoke can be. This toxicity of smoke could also have adverse health effects (Finlay, et al., 2012, para. 16-17). Other health side effects are nausea and impaired lung functions. Many of these health effects are due to carbon monoxide and microscopic particles that get embedded in the lungs and cause shortness of breath or even asthma. With at least six wildfires in Idaho right now, two of which are red flag incidents, Idahoans are getting prolonged exposure to wildfire smoke, which can cause cardiovascular diseases and other long-term health …show more content…

People lose their homes to wildfires every year. Just this year, “A total of 63 residences and 79 other structures were lost in fires fought by the State of Idaho.” (Idaho Department of Lands, 2015, para. 7). Not only do wildfires affect individual homes, but they cause damage to government property, such as roads. The Idaho Statesman covered a story on the long-term effects of the Tower and Soda fires. One example was the scorched slopes of Owyhee county and how “... denuded slopes will erode away, and the resulting slides and floods will wreck roads and add more costs to counties, the state and federal governments.” (Barker, 2015, para.

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