![]() ![]() Sacramento County Public Health used a modified version of the wildfire smoke query developed by WA DOH to monitor the number of emergency department (ED) visits related to wildfire smoke exposure. ![]() The support enabled Sacramento and San Mateo counties to rapidly leverage, adapt, and extend wildfire-related syndrome definitions and surveillance techniques that had demonstrated utility and value define specific monitoring and response needs that differ based on wildfire proximity and magnitude and establish relationships and direct lines of communication with other sites. This included sharing Electronic Surveillance System for the Early Notification of Community-based Epidemics (ESSENCE) queries and visualizations that had been developed by Washington State Department of Health (WA DOH) epidemiologists to monitor wildfire events in their state. During the Camp Fire, CDC NSSP contacted Sacramento, San Mateo, and other affected sites to offer technical assistance, guidance, and resources. In California, participation in the CDC National Syndromic Surveillance Program (NSSP) is decentralized, with independently participating local health jurisdictions in various stages of planning, onboarding, and production. Natural-color satellite image of the November 2018 Butte County Camp Fire taken by the MODIS instrument on the Terra satellite on November 15, 2018. NASA Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS) Worldview. San Mateo County, located about 200 miles downwind, experienced 7 days with concentrations exceeding “Unhealthy” AQI levels.įigure 1. 2Īs the smoke from the Camp Fire spread south, Sacramento County, located about 88 miles downwind, observed 24-hour maximum fine particulate matter (PM2.5) concentrations exceeding 260 μg/m3 (on day 8 of the 18-day event), with 11 consecutive days exceeding “Unhealthy” Air Quality Index (AQI) levels (24-hour average PM2.5 >65.5 μg/m3). 1 Today, more than 25 million acres of wildlands-a risk area of over half the state-are classified as a very high or extreme fire threat in California. In 2018, California experienced the most destructive wildfire season on record, with 7,571 fires burning nearly 1.7 million acres, over 23,300 damaged or destroyed structures, and 93 confirmed fatalities.1 The Camp Fire, which began on November 8, 2018, in east wind-driven fire-prone wildlands in Butte County, Northern California, was the deadliest wildfire in California history and sixth-deadliest U.S. Funding from the National Syndromic Surveillance Program supports the use of syndromic surveillance in improving the nation’s public health. The state’s experience demonstrated the utility, reliability, and timeliness of syndromic data for monitoring and characterizing wildfire-related health impacts. They set up monitoring and response plans and formed data-sharing relationships across jurisdictional lines.Ĭalifornia’s use of syndromic data during the 2018 wildfire season formed cross-jurisdictional relationships and a desire for regional collaboration and information exchange around emerging areas of syndromic surveillance. ![]() Epidemiologists in Sacramento and San Mateo counties quickly adapted the wildfire-related syndrome definitions and surveillance techniques. NSSP scientists contacted Sacramento, San Mateo, and other affected sites to propose technical assistance, guidance, and resources for monitoring wildfire events. 2Īt the onset of the fires, California’s decentralized and independent public health jurisdictions were in various stages of becoming part of CDC’s National Syndromic Surveillance Program (NSSP). 1 More than 25 million acres of California wildlands are classified as very high or extreme fire threats-a risk area covering more than half the state. In 2018, California experienced its most destructive wildfire season on record. ![]()
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