Wildfires ravaging western US spread to 11 states as previously safe areas face new warnings – and horrifying scale of dementia risk starts to emerge

As millions of people in the western US battle scorching temperatures, a new study has found a link between long-term exposure to wildfire smoke and brain health.

The Park Fire has grown to become the fifth largest wildfire in California, burning 389,791 acres across Butte, Plumas, Shasta and Tehama counties, with only 18 percent contained as of Wednesday morning. CalFire.

Firefighters were battling 95 major fires on Wednesday, most of which were spread across the western United States, National Interagency Fire Service Center reported.

According to the National Weather Forecast, temperatures in the Pacific Northwest, the northern Rockies and the northern High Plains will be around 90 degrees Fahrenheit, and much of the northern Great Basin will be around 100 degrees Fahrenheit. That will make it even harder to fight the flames.

“Weather conditions are expected to be much warmer and drier later this week, with some wind and a chance of thunderstorms. High temperatures, low relative humidity dropping into the teens, and poor nighttime moisture recovery will lead to increased fire activity and extreme fire behavior,” CalFire said.

Firefighters battled 95 major fires on Wednesday, most of them across the western United States

‘Firefighters are providing structural defense where necessary. They are attempting to complete containment lines in some areas and establish strong positions in challenging topography, while also cleaning up damage where appropriate.’

At least 277 structures have been destroyed and 29 damaged in Butte and Tehama County by the Park Fire.

More than 5,000 firefighters are battling a blaze believed to have been started by a man who pushed his burning car into a ditch in upper Bidwell Park, near the city of Chico, last week.

Ronnie Stout II, 42, has been arrested and charged with arson in connection with the fire.

California’s Air Resources Board considers wildfire smoke a “serious health risk.”

New research has found a link between long-term exposure to wildfire smoke and brain health, CNN reported.

More than 5,000 firefighters are battling the Park Fire, which was reportedly started by a man who pushed his burning car into a ditch in upper Bidwell Park near the city of Chico last week.

There are at least 277 destroyed buildings and 29 damaged buildings in Butte and Tehama County from the Park Fire

Researchers measured the impact of PM2.5 (air pollutant particles 2.5 microns in diameter or smaller) on more than 1.2 million people aged 60 and older in Southern California from 2009 to 2019.

They found that the likelihood of someone exposed to wildfire smoke being diagnosed with dementia increases by 21 percent for every increase in 1 microgram of PM2.5 concentration per cubic meter of air, averaged over a three-year period.

“There is a fair amount of literature showing an association between air pollution exposure and dementia, but there has been very limited research on how PM2.5 from wildfires specifically is associated with dementia,” researcher Dr. Holly Elser, an epidemiologist and neurologist at the University of Pennsylvania, told CNN.

“As wildfires become more intense and frequent, and occur in places outside the western United States, we felt this was an important, specific source of air pollution that we should consider as a potential risk factor for dementia.”

In Oregon, the state’s largest wildfire, the Durkee Fire, has burned 740,000 acres and was 52 percent contained as of Wednesday morning.

In Colorado, the Alexander Mountain fire (pictured) reached an estimated 5,080 acres on Tuesday without any containment

There are three fires burning in Colorado: the Alexander Mountain Fire, the Quarry Fire and the Stone Canyon Fire.

The Alexander Mountain Fire, which started Monday in Larimer County, was estimated to have reached 13,000 acres by Tuesday and was not yet contained, according to the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office.

The chairman of the Larimer County Board of Commissioners has declared an emergency for the county.

The Stone Canyon fire has burned 3,500 acres, with no significant increase overnight. The evacuation order for parts of Lyons has been lifted.

The Quarry Fire in Jefferson County broke out overnight and has grown to 130 acres, with five neighborhoods under mandatory evacuation. The Denver Gazette reported.