Over the past few years, it seems that a number of locations in the US, mainly the western part and Florida have been plagued by a number of wildfires. Some of these wildfires burn out of control for days and weeks before firefighters begin to gain any level of control or containment. Thousands of acres of trees, bushes and grasses are reduced to ashes, leaving the countryside looking like the charred remains of war zone or the landscape on some distant planet that you see portrayed in the movies.

2017 was the deadliest year for wildfires in California. The state had over 9,000 wildfires that burned almost 1.4 million acres, about 2,180 square miles. That’s larger than the land area of either Rhode Island or Delaware.

We watched on the news as hundreds of homes and other buildings were reduced to rubble and ashes. One of the worst fires last year in California raced through part of the wine country, destroying vineyards that had taken years to cultivate and the wineries that converted the grapes to wine. One of the wineries destroyed was family owned and their sole source of income. They said it would take years to plant new grape vines and grow them to the point they will once again produce enough quality grapes to harvest and press.

As the wildfires raged on, we also saw television images of huge clouds of smoke covering entire towns and surrounding areas. The smoke clouds were so large that they could be seen from space.

During those times, people are advised to stay indoors as much as possible because of the poor air quality. For years, authorities thought that the air in people’s homes is safer to breathe, but many people have been finding out that the air in their home isn’t all that safe to breathe and they want to know who is responsible for providing them safe clean air to breathe inside their homes.

Many people stuffed towels and rags at the top and bottom of their doors and some even taped around their windows, but the smoke from the fires still found ways of entering their homes, forcing many to invest in air purifiers, which can run several hundred dollars for each room and require regular filter changes which also have costs.

Whether young or old, breathing the smoke from wildfires is not healthy and can cause health problems if you don’t already have them. For those who do have health problems, even being indoors and breathing the wildfire smoke that comes in can be life-threatening.

So, again, who is responsible for providing for clean breathable air inside homes near wildfires?

That’s a question that being asked by more and more people as we see more and larger wildfires. Authorities in Missoula County in Montana are being asked this very question after a large wildfire they had last year. Ellen Leahy, a health officer with the Missoula City-County Health Department commented:

“We’d always told people to go indoors, thinking the air might be a little better. Well, that was not necessarily true anymore.” She admitted that residents were in need of air purifiers but the department didn’t have any funding to help them purchase them and she knows it has had a huge impact on the lives of some of the residents.

For example, Don and Joy Dunagan are 69 and both have respiratory conditions. He was recently diagnosed with asbestosis from working in an aluminum factory for 40 years. He says that he only has about 50% breathing capacity and even after trying their best to seal up their house, the smoke that hung around for weeks still managed to fill the house and he said it felt like it was killing him.

The western states and Florida aren’t the only areas in the nation to face wildfires and the resulting heavy and dangerous smoke. It’s advised that many people to obtain good quality air filtration systems or air purifiers, if at all possible. I was forced into buying one a couple of years ago and it still cost us a couple hundred dollars and it only covers the air in our living room, which is where I work and sleep. The replacement filters run about $60 each and it takes 3 of those and 1 another filter which need to be changed out about every 3-4 months.

You may also want to know that it’s not just the air from wildfires that can seep into your homes, but the air from any nearby factories, the pollution from nearby busy roads and even the second-hand smoke from a neighbor. You may not think you need an air purifier now, but just think about what years of breathing these pollutants is doing to your lungs. You really don’t want to wait until you already develop a chronic respiratory problem but take some measures to help prevent the problem from developing. The bottom line is that it is doubtful if any city, county or state agency will buy air purifiers for you, which means it’s left up to you.