Wildfire Safety and How You Can Make An Impact! OCTOBER 2021 Wildfires Continue to Sweep Through California A Letter from the Breathe Southern California President & CEO On the East Coast, where I grew up, the seasons were very identifiable. Hot in the summer, cold and snowy in the winter. Spring was rainy and in bloom, while fall was blustery and you couldn’t help but make the Rice Krispies’ sounds (snap, crackle, pop) when you walked on the sidewalk, which was inevitably covered in brittle, orange and brown leaves that had fallen to the ground and dried out. In Southern California, we experience autumn much differently. When palm trees drop their fronds, you need to get out of the way. Our weather is not as damp or as chilly as the windy East Coast, where on some days everyone wears gloves and a scarf. And unless someone lives in the higher elevations, there’s no snow here in Southern California. But what we do confront this time of year are dramatic and dangerous wildfires. The four deadliest and most destructive wildfires in California’s history have all burned in either the month of October or November. As the years go by, this fire-laden season is only getting longer and the fires are getting larger and larger. In fact, the seven largest wildfires in California have all occurred in the past three years! Since the start of 2021, 7,883 fires have burned more than 2 million acres in California – an area larger than the state of Delaware. That's more than double the latest five-year average and six times the average for the entire decade of the 1970s! New studies are showing that the pollution from wildfires could be causing more deaths than the fires themselves. Wildfire pollution is spreading far and wide. This past July, for instance, Maine experienced bad air days due to drifting wildfire smoke from West Coast wildfires. And along the Pacific Coast, it is estimated that wildfire smoke causes approximately 3,200 deaths each year! These numbers are unacceptable! So Breathe SoCal has taken it upon itself to put an end to this trajectory. In April, Breathe SoCal co-sponsored AB 619, a bill to require the California Department of Public Health and California’s counties to have plans in place to address the public health threat of wildfire smoke, not just the threat of wildfire flames. After months of urging our representatives to support this bill, we are proud to announce that on September 30th, 2021, Governor Newsom signed AB 619 into law! We couldn't have made this important change without you. Every dollar, petition signature, and social media share was essential in helping Breathe SoCal push California’s legislators to recognize the substantial public health threat posed by wildfire smoke. We are proud of the progress we’ve made but a lot of work remains to reduce the threats posed by wildfires. If you have not made a donation, it's not too late! We need your generous support to continue our work on wildfires and other major sources of harmful air pollution! Stay up to date with all of our efforts combatting wildfire smoke, cleaning the air, and providing support to those with lung ailments, by visiting our website at breathesocal.org, following us on social media @BreatheSoCal, or following me @mcarrel. In Health, Marc Carrel President & CEO Southern California’s Wildfire Infrastructure By upgrading our electric infrastructure and investing in new technologies, we can prevent wildfires before they happen, help better predict when a wildfire may occur, and respond quickly if one starts. Learn More Here Happy Halloween from your favorite lungs! It's Alvie and Olie, your favorite pair of lungs! We are so excited to go trick-or-treating this year! With Halloween right around the corner, here are a few easy safety tips on how YOU can keep your little monsters safe this weekend! 1. If your kids go trick-or-treating, have them use flashlights since the sun sets early these days and it can be difficult to see where they are walking. 2. This year, light your jack-o'-lanterns with battery-powered tea lights instead of candles. 3. Keep all your spooky decorations, like dried flowers, away from open flames and other heat sources like heaters and incandescent lightbulbs. 4. When choosing their costumes, consider buying flame retardant material and stay away from long, trailing fabric that someone can step on in the dark. Our work with Breathe SoCal continues as we fight for our communities to breathe clean air. We are working to protect as many lungs as possible. Donate today to help Breathe SoCal put an end to California's wildfire pollution, and help all our little ones have healthy lungs. Donate Today 🡆 Don't be a stranger, stay in touch. Here's how: ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ Breathe Southern California | 5858 Wilshire Blvd. Suite 300, Los Angeles, CA 90036 Unsubscribe [email protected] Update Profile | Constant Contact Data Notice Sent by [email protected] powered by Try email marketing for free today!