Health effects of forest fires concern medical experts
Doctors have suspected for years that forest fires aggravate heart and lung diseases. A 2001 study of Montana hospital admission records by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that wood fire smoke poses a "serious public health threat," according to published news reports.
The CDC measured and compared more than 2,000 medical records for patients with heart and lung problems among those who sustained varying degrees of exposure to smoke from forest fires. The results: Increases in hospital admission for respiratory and circulatory problems among residents in counties exposed to high levels of fire smoke.