Even the biggest fire has limits. At some point, it will reach a body of water or a fire containment line or otherwise run out of fuel. That's the fire... the smoke is another matter entirely, since it can travel many miles from the fire, and affect the health of people far away.
Oregon Institute of Technology researched the health impacts of smoke with the Asante Health System hospitals and the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality. The hoped-for end product is a system that can let hospitals know what kinds of respiratory patient loads it might get on high-smoke days.
Two of the researchers join us: Adelaide Clark and Kyle Chapman.