Western Wildfires a Hot Topic for Growers

The 2020 fire season came early this year, overlapping with intensive harvesting. While the western wildfires themselves remain primarily in the hills and generally aren’t intruding into farm fields, smoke and ash are another story.

EPA’s AirNow hosts the Fire and Smoke Map, which shows the air quality throughout much of the West Coast’s growing areas rank as either unhealthy, very unhealthy, or hazardous.

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These rankings are based on the official air quality index (AQI), and anything from unhealthy or higher falls above the 151 AQI threshold that triggers California’s new wildfire smoke requirements.

Some wildfires have burned farms. We reached out to MAS Labor’s Kerry Scott, asking what he advice he has for H-2A growers.

His tips apply to all growers, however:

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  • Maintain situational awareness.
  • Have your team wear natural fibers, not synthetics.  If you get too close to fire in synthetics, they can melt into your skin.
  • Identify escape routes and make sure your team leaders know which ones are closest to them during each shift.

For more on what you can do to protect your workers and your farm, continue reading at GrowingProduce.com.

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