To avoid breathing wildfire smoke, it's important to have the right gear. Dust masks, bandanas and damp pieces of cloth won't adequately protect you from inhaling fine particulate matter like PM2.5.

Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. A firefighter lays out a hose line while fighting the Park Fire near Forest Ranch, Calif., Sunday, July 28, 2024. The U.S. Forest ...

U.S. Forest Service firefighter Alan Gudino, right, shields his face while battling the Madre fire in San Luis Obispo County in July. (Noah Berger / Associated Press) The U.S. Forest Service has ...

The U.S. government will provide wildfire fighters with masks to protect against smoke — reversing a decades-long ban that exposed workers to toxins known to cause cancer and other serious diseases.

During wildfire season, every fire comes with the direct risk of what it burns. But there is a secondary risk that comes with all wildfires: The impact of smoke haze on human health. Smoky air is a ...

The reversal of a decades-old U.S. Forest Service policy means that federal wildland firefighters can now mask up if they want to — something Washington’s state wildland firefighters have been able to ...

Wildfire seasons that once felt exceptional are now routine, and the smoke they generate is emerging as a far more potent public health threat than earlier estimates suggested. Instead of behaving ...