Houston Fire Leads to Polluted Air for Area Residents

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(TNS) — Houston-area residents living near Sam Houston National Forest risk breathing in unhealthy pollution from the 2,000-acre wildfire ripping across the area, even as fire crews work hard to battle the blaze that began Wednesday night.

The wildfire was 20% contained by 8:45 a.m. Thursday, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service public information officer Matt Ford, with 900 Montgomery County homes under orders to evacuate.

Still, the mix of gases and particle pollution in wildfire smoke can travel far from an initial blaze — as when smoke from Canadian wildfires in 2023 reached the southern U.S. — and may persist after a fire is put out.

It can cause short-term issues even in healthy individuals like trouble breathing, stinging eyes and a scratchy throat, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. For vulnerable populations, wildfire smoke can also trigger critical conditions like heart failure and stroke.

How far does air pollution travel from wildfires?

National Weather Service meteorologist Sean Luchs told the Houston Chronicle that since active flames were lofting plumes high into the air on Thursday, the smoke impacts on residents would “probably be mostly limited to that immediate area around the fire,” while residents living farther away should only feel a change if they are extremely sensitive to smoke.But an air quality information gap made the actual impacted area difficult to see. As of Thursday morning, most of the Houston-area air monitors set up by the government or part of the publicly-accessible Purple Air network showed safe air quality readings. However, none of these monitors were situated directly downwind of the blaze.

As the fire continues, that may change.

“Through today, with the winds coming out of the northwest, any smoke impact is for locations more to the south, southeast of the fire. Like Kingwood, Crosby, places like that,” Luchs said. “But overnight, we will get winds actually shifting back around to be more southerly.”

The meteorologist said this meant smoke from the fire would likely begin to head north of the fire by late Thursday night and into Friday, across the forest and toward Lake Livingston. He added that as flames reduced overnight the smoke would also sit closer to the ground, where people were more likely to breathe it in.

For nearby residents concerned about their exposure to gusts from any major wildfire, “it’s best to evacuate, it’s best to go into a an area that has a whole lot less air pollution,” said Glory Hammes, the North American division head of air quality technology company IQAir.

How unhealthy is wildfire smoke?

Wildfires do not release a single type of pollutant, according to Hammes. Air contaminants from wildfires travel “in the form of particulate matter, but also volatile organic compounds, gases and odors that are also released as a result of the burning,” she said.

According to Anthony D’Souza, the research and policy coordinator for local nonprofit Air Alliance Houston, wearing N95 masks or other facial coverings can help those living downwind of the Pauline Road wildfire to limit their smoke exposure. Staying hydrated can also lessen airway irritation. If residents are not sure whether they are at risk, he said, they should pay attention to visible smoke and watch out for subtle symptoms.

“In the absence of air monitoring data, people should be extra vigilant to their physiological response for any stressors — if you smell smoke, notice your airways becoming irritated, excessive coughing, eyes watering unusually, difficulty breathing, dizziness/headaches, abnormal chest pain or tightness etc. seek medical help right away, as that is likely your body’s response to contaminants and pollutants in the air,” D’Souza said.

Prior to the forest fire, the National Weather Service issued warnings about fire weather conditions in the region. Those red flag warnings remained in effect on Thursday, and officials cautioned area residents to avoid not only lighting fires but also using other equipment likely to produce sparks.