Here’s what Fresno-area farmers need to know about air quality amid COVID-19 this weekend
As massive wildfires torched California, smoke engulfed the Central Valley this week, polluting the air and creating a dangerously unhealthy atmosphere.
Already facing a brutal summer of triple-digit temperatures and the coronavirus pandemic, the region’s 420,000 farmworkers faced dangerous air during the peak harvest season.
And while air quality in the central San Joaquin Valley improved as the week went on, it remains unhealthy. San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District urged residents to stay indoors over the weekend.
Eugenia Gonzalez, 38, has worked as a farmworker for 10 years, hand-picking and harvesting raisins during the busy summer months to make extra money. But the combination of the air quality and heat has forced her to stop several times throughout the day while she tried to catch her breath.
“I couldn’t breathe,” she said in Spanish. “It looked foggy, but it wasn’t fog, it was because the air was contaminated with smoke. I felt like I was suffocating.”
Most regions of the Valley stretching from Sacramento down to Bakersfield earlier this week had AQI readings in the “unhealthy” range between 151 and 200, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s AirNow live map. AQI readings as of Friday throughout the region slightly improved, showing air quality in the “moderate” range between 51-100 in areas such as Fresno and Bakersfield, while air quality from Sacramento to Modesto hovered around 101-150, considered “unhealthy for sensitive groups.”
The quality is measured by how much particulate matter (PM 2.5) is in the air.
Several counties are affected, including San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Merced, Madera, Fresno, Kings, Tulare, and parts of Kern County. When the air quality spikes above 151, employers are required to provide workers with masks, according to Occupational Safety and Health Administration standards.
“It’s just unfortunate,” Fresno County Farm Bureau CEO Ryan Jacobsen said. “We knew there was a potential to be a fire year— not knowing when that was going to start — but it’s obviously here upon us at this point.”
According to the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District, the smoke is blowing in from multiple fires including the SCU Lightning Complex Fire east of San Jose, the Hills Fire located in Fresno County west of Avenal near Highway 33, the CZU August Lightning Complex Fire in Santa Cruz as well as the Lake Fire in Los Angeles.
The fires throughout the state have collectively burnt more than 1.6 million acres, destroyed at least 2,492 structures, and killed seven people as of Friday, according to Cal Fire.
Jacobsen said the Farm Bureau had deployed hundreds of thousands of N95 masks on Friday and would continue throughout the following week.
Melissa Creegan, the county’s agricultural commissioner, said more than 40,000 masks had already been distributed and with an additional 280,000 in the works. The masks are given to different agricultural groups that pass them on to employers, growers, farm labor contractors, and packing companies that are working outdoors, she added.
Despite using masks, for some workers like Gonzalez, the conditions are proving to be too rough.
She said the masks they use to protect themselves also make it harder to breathe. Now, the air quality, coupled with coronavirus fears, are making the situation worse. Though Gonzalez struggles, she said she worries about some of the older workers and are more susceptible to getting sick.
“We have to wear a mask all the time while we’re working, but it’s really difficult to work with a mask on because of how hot it is,” she said. “If someone is diabetic or has asthma, they won’t be able to work. Everything is so difficult in 2020. I hope the situation changes.”
Still, Jacobsen said N95 masks offer the best protection from the smoke.
The N95 masks will be prioritized for outdoor employees, but Creegan said 300,000 cloth masks, 40,000 bottles of hand sanitizer, and informational leaflets in Spanish with health and safety precautions are also being distributed to continue mitigating the spread of COVID-19 in farmworker communities.
“It’s always important that we provide the resources that keep our workers safe,” she said. “Our farming community is incredibly important, not just to our economy in California, but also to our food supply throughout the nation.”
Health officials warn that inhaling PM 2.5 pollution can cause serious problems such as asthma attacks, heart or lung disease, and aggravate chronic bronchitis, and increase heart attack and stroke risk.
To prevent overheating, Jacobsen said workers should stay hydrated, adding that employers are taking other measures, such as providing additional break times and adjusting schedules, so workers don’t have to be out in the fields during the hottest period in the day.
“In some circumstances, it’s going to be bad all day long,” he said. “But essentially, we’re very cautious when it comes to heat. The difficulty is obviously just the heat and smoke together are truly, truly tough here in the Valley.”
Farmworkers can reach the Fresno County Farm Bureau at (559) 237 0263 to receive more information and request resources such as masks. The United Farmworkers Foundation, which provides COVID-19 resources to workers and families, can be reached at (877) 881-8281. Air quality updates can be found at the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution District’s website here.
This story was originally published August 30, 2020 at 8:00 AM.