He had emphysema… they didn’t specifically connect it, but I would be shocked if the fires had no effect on his health. Ash causing strokes and heart failure are some of the specific things they warn about in the air quality warnings. There’s still ash everywhere because it hasn’t rained and they don’t expect it to for at least another week, probably longer. So every time a car goes by in the street it’s kicking up ash that people are breathing in.
In the 2020 Oregon fires, everything was coated in ash even though we were 20-30 miles away. I used a respirator while working outside and it didn’t take long for the filters to get all sooty. You’d come outside in the morning and your car would be covered in it as if we’d had fresh snowfall. I have no doubt that it caused problems for someone with emphysema.
Second paragraph of the article OP linked to mentions he was a lifetime smoker. While the fires might exacerbate his symptoms, it sounds like he was already in very poor health.
Sorry, thought it was clear that I was saying that they didn’t specifically connect his death to the fires, not that they didn’t connect it to emphysema.
He had emphysema… they didn’t specifically connect it, but I would be shocked if the fires had no effect on his health. Ash causing strokes and heart failure are some of the specific things they warn about in the air quality warnings. There’s still ash everywhere because it hasn’t rained and they don’t expect it to for at least another week, probably longer. So every time a car goes by in the street it’s kicking up ash that people are breathing in.
In the 2020 Oregon fires, everything was coated in ash even though we were 20-30 miles away. I used a respirator while working outside and it didn’t take long for the filters to get all sooty. You’d come outside in the morning and your car would be covered in it as if we’d had fresh snowfall. I have no doubt that it caused problems for someone with emphysema.
Second paragraph of the article OP linked to mentions he was a lifetime smoker. While the fires might exacerbate his symptoms, it sounds like he was already in very poor health.
Sorry, thought it was clear that I was saying that they didn’t specifically connect his death to the fires, not that they didn’t connect it to emphysema.