Colossal wildfire plumes that can be spotted from space have erupted on several California wildfires in the past months.

The Mosquito Fire burning in Placer and El Dorado counties produced torrents of smoke that soared tens of thousands of feet into the air. The cloud of soot and debris could be seen 60 miles away. Smoke from the blaze blanketed large swaths of Northern California and western Nevada, resulting in hazardous-level air quality.

Wildfire plumes in the western US are reaching greater heights than ever, a recent study reports — especially in California’s Sierra Nevada.

“The higher the plume reaches, the more likely it is to be transported rapidly over large distances,” said David Peterson, a meteorologist with the US Naval Research Laboratory-Monterey who was not part of the new study.

That means smoke, carrying a hodgepodge of chemical compounds, wafts farther distances and impacts more people. Wildfire smoke can irritate lungs and even cause wider health issues, especially for vulnerable populations like older adults, children and those with underlying health conditions.

A pyrocumulonimbus cloud from mosquito fire as seen from the air of a commercial airline flight over Sacramento, September 8, 2022. Video: Courtesy Gregory Van Acker

“Once these particles enter our bloodstream they can pretty much affect our entire bodies,” said Rosana Aguilera Becker, an environmental health scientist at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego.

The study, out of the University of Utah, used mathematical models to simulate plume heights for about 4.6 million wildfires. The analyzes examined burned areas detected by satellite in the western US and Canada from 2003 through 2020, during August and September. The researchers found that over those years, plume top heights increased hundreds of feet across much of the mountainous western US

But not all areas saw the same amount of growth.

“Sierra Nevada definitely stands out,” said study author John Lin, an atmospheric scientist at the University of Utah. In the Sierra, the researchers found that plumes grew about an additional 750 feet per year. On wildfires like the Mosquito, that’s meant intense plumes have soared to some 40,000 feet.

Firefighters watch a smoke column from a distance during the Mosquito Fire in unincorporated Placer County.

Stephen Lam/The Chronicle

Other regions, like the Southern Rockies and Eastern Cascades, increased by over 300 feet per year.

This upward trend increased even more after 2015, although the results weren’t statistically significant.

This uptick in plume top height was accompanied by increases in wildfire emissions that cause poor air quality, especially in the Sierra Nevada region. As the plumes explode in height, smoke can surge above the planetary boundary layer, the layer of the atmosphere closest to the ground.

You’ve encountered this boundary any time you’ve been on a plane descending to land.

“If you’re going into SFO, you probably are familiar with the times when it suddenly gets really rocky,” Lin said, “That’s a pretty good indication of where the (planetary boundary layer) starts.”

Smoke that makes it to these altitudes — about 3,000 feet above the ground — disperses more readily due to strong winds.

The researchers propose that the increase in wildfire plume height is due in part to climate change: Drier conditions and warmer temperatures enable fires at higher elevations. This vertical shift gives wildfire plumes a head start toward sending smoke particles higher into the atmosphere, above the planetary boundary layer.

Some plumes make it even farther, past the boundary between the troposphere and stratosphere. These are pyrocumulonimbus clouds, also known as pyroCbs.

“A pyroCb generally reaches the typical cruising altitudes of jet aircraft and beyond,” Peterson said. “So we’re talking 30,000 feet or higher.”

PyroCbs are similar in appearance to thunderstorm-producing cumulonimbus clouds: puffy and towering. A recent example is the immense plume produced by the Mosquito Fire, which soared to heights observed from airspace.

These clouds act like chimneys, funneling smoke up into the stratosphere.

“It’s a thunderstorm that’s ingesting smoke at the cloud base,” Peterson said. “And then it gets accelerated through that thunderstorm cloud and ejected through the top of it.”

The researchers identified increasing pyroCb activity within the Colorado Plateau over the study period. They also found a slight uptick in pyroCbs in the Sierra Nevada in recent years. Additional research is needed to get a clear picture of what’s happening with these extreme plumes, which are still a developing research area.

What is known, however, is that smoke that makes it to these altitudes can linger for months and spread over vast distances, potentially causing health issues for many.

“There is a great concern that wildfires will be — and are already — a major source of air pollution,” Aguilera Becker said.

Jack Lee (he/him) is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jack.lee@sfchronicle.com

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Hundreds of workers at the Tenderloin Housing Clinic, the largest operator of single-room occupancy buildings in San Francisco, said they were planning a one-day strike expected to commence on Wednesday.

The employees overwhelmingly voted to authorize a strike in May, with 99% in support. Since then, the union and THC have continued meeting for bargaining talks that have now been grinding on for nearly eight months.

While the two sides made progress addressing worker fatigue — agreeing to allot three mental health days for each employee — they remain at odds over wages, the key issue driving the strike.

“Wages pay rent, they pay rising gas bills, they pay for groceries,” said Evan Oravec, a THC community organizer and president of its union, which is affiliated with Service Employees International Union Local 1021.

So far, THC’s position on wages increases “is not satisfactory for workers,” Oravec said. “It doesn’t raise everyone enough,” he said, referring to the proposed scale of $19 to $21 an hour for desk clerks, $20 to $22 for janitors and $22 to $24 for maintenance workers.

That range is too low, Oravec said, and has triggered fears of pay compression, which occurs when employees with different levels of experience earn roughly the same amount. A desk clerk with one or two years of experience already makes $18.40 an hour, Oravec said, fearing the new rates would effectively lock these employees in at a salary barely better than their current earnings.

Tenderloin Housing Clinic’s executive director, Randy Shaw, said he shares the union’s concerns about setting the bottom of the pay scale too low. Though Shaw believes that Wednesday’s action will have little impact on SRO residents — given its short anticipated duration — he and other managers have pressed the city to raise the proposed bar as contract negotiations wear on.

“We know it’s disruptive to not go in for a day,” clinical case manager Marissa Roarty said, indicating that without janitors, toilets might get clogged and trash might not get taken out, and without desk clerks, guests might not be able to come and go.

She said the workers “feel like this is a last resort.”

Union organizers were threatening to strike for several days, even as they continued bargaining with management. Though the talks appear amicable, workers sent a strong message when they held a picket sign-making party last Wednesday.

Mayor London Breed and the Board of Supervisors boosted funding in San Francisco’s budget this year for city-contracted nonprofits — and specifically those that oversee permanent supportive housing — with an eye toward increasing wages. The budget includes a 5.25% pay increase for all employees of nonprofits funded by the city, plus a 2.5% increase for all nonprofit contracts, which could also go to worker earnings.

Additionally, the city is providing $3 million annually to nonprofits in the permanent supportive housing sector, to bring case manager salaries up to $28 an hour, according to the mayor’s office.

However, Shaw said he’s been assured only that case managers’ salaries would rise to $25 an hour.

Another item in the budget allocates $12 million annually to raise wages of other frontline workers in the permanently supportive housing sphere.

Shaw said he agrees with the union that the minimums established in the current proposed pay scales for desk clerks, janitors and maintenance workers are all too low. He said the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing set those ranges, and the Tenderloin Housing Clinic has emphatically pushed to increase them.

A representative of the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing said officials have prioritized “wage equity” in this year’s budget.

“We’ve been pounding HSH as hard as we can,” Shaw said, adding that clinic management also tried lobbying members of the Board of Supervisors’ Budget and Appropriations Committee, but could not persuade the majority of its five members to mandate that the department set pay at the higher end of the scale.

Robert Crockett, a custodian at THC who currently makes $17.37 an hour, said he’s confident his union will negotiate a better wage.

“The cost of living in San Francisco is very high: telephone bills, washing clothes and then I have grandkids,” Crockett said during a phone interview Thursday afternoon from the Raman Hotel, one of the clinic’s buildings on Howard Street.

Crockett lives in the Galvin Apartments, a separate Tenderloin Housing Clinic property in SoMa.

Chronicle staff writer Sabrina Pascua contributed to this report.

Rachel Swan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: rswan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @rachelswan

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SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) – BART officials said Wednesday climate change and sea level rise will pose a growing threat to the transit system in the coming decades.

The ailing transport company is trying to find money to combat the long-term but looming threat.

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“One of the predictions is that by mid-century we might see tides a foot higher than they are now. So that’s 2050, ”said BART spokesman Jim Allison.

BART engineers say sea level rise could have a number of potential effects. For example, the Embarcadero train station in San Francisco could occasionally be inundated by floods.

Other stations could be threatened by rising groundwater, which would strain the existing pumps and the aging infrastructure of the system.

“The thing for me is that we’re at the height of technology and innovation in the Bay Area, but this is an old system that is really shabby,” said BART driver Jason Caballero.

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BART has identified many of the potential problem areas, but the agency relies on injections of money from the federal government just to keep trains running.

“The devastating effects of the pandemic and the dramatic decrease in the number of passengers paying for their tickets have really turned our funding plan upside down,” Allison said.

BART drivers say they understand the transportation company’s financial plight but are concerned about the long-term costs of inaction.

“It might be better to say, ‘Let’s pretend it’ll happen in 10 years.’ And what could the BART system do in 10 years to avoid being caught wading in the BART system with pants down and knee-deep water? ”Asked rider Bianca Espinoza.

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BART officials noted that several vulnerable stations are connected to other important pieces of infrastructure in the Bay Area, such as the airports in San Francisco and Oakland. Any plan to mitigate this impact would necessarily have to be regional and collaborative.

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Wherever you live, climate change will change your life for decades to come. It’s getting hotter, drier and homes near the coast are at risk of flooding due to rising sea levels. If, despite the risks, you’re not ready to stay in your coastal home, it’s time to move to your area – and learn about the factors that should influence your choice of location.

Coastlines around the world are threatened by flooding, erosion, and saltwater ingress into wells and municipal water supplies. In the United States, the Southeast and Northeast are most vulnerable to hurricane and storm surge flooding, and to the loss of freshwater supplies as sea levels rise. In the west, coastal erosion, including the loss of cliff houses over Pacific beaches, and water supply issues are top concerns for homeowners who live near the ocean.

Instead of putting down roots and moving across the country, most of us considering moving will consider living further from the coast while avoiding other effects of climate change. Since there is nowhere we can completely avoid the effects of climate change, a change of residence should be combined with a change in your lifestyle to reduce your environmental impact.

When and where departure should be considered

Climate change results in longer and more severe hurricane seasons and extreme weather conditions that can contribute to flash floods that can lead to deaths and loss of property in remote cities. If you live in the storm-prone Southeast and Northeast within 4 to 20 feet of sea level, there are good reasons to consider moving now – not just the potential damage, but the inability to insure homes and personal belongings becomes the value from at. lower risk homes in these regions.

In 2107, Climate Central identified the 25 cities most at risk for major or “100 year” floods. The low-lying southeast is the most exposed area to flood risk, but note that New York City, where 245,000 people could be displaced by a large storm tidal wave, tops the list. Florida’s coastal cities have the largest population at 1.58 million who could face disaster due to hurricane storm surges and rising sea levels. Not only will these cities suffer, Climate Central also reports that low-income households will be hardest hit, as the risk of harm will increase by 300% by 2050.

Source: Climate Central, low-income households will be hardest hit, October 25, 2017.

Another problem these low-lying cities face is the lack of freshwater sources. When sea levels rise, the normal flow of groundwater to the ocean reverses, causing saltwater to contaminate aquifers and wells near the coast. Florida’s aquifers are particularly vulnerable to saltwater invasion because the state is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. Still, the population is expected to grow by 25% over the next two decades. More people with access to less water are the recipe for conflict and will certainly affect the value of real estate.

The West is not immune to water problems either. As the drought continues and sea levels rise, the wells of lower-lying homes and public water supplies could become increasingly contaminated by salt water. And when sea levels rise, key coastal wetlands are threatened, which would change the local food supply as fish lose a critical habitat.

“If you wipe out an entire system, the effects will spread to predators and down to prey. It’s just amazing, ”said Glen MacDonald, UCLA Distinguished Professor of Geology, when describing a research he co-authored in 2018. Despite having a generally steeper coastline, the west faces several threats.

Another problem facing the Pacific coast is cliff erosion, which will threaten homes, highways, beaches, and wildlife. Just this week in Orange County, California, coastal commuter and Amtrack services were suspended due to erosion. While this may sound like a sheer inconvenience to deal with, the dire effects of erosion on the region are far-reaching and affect every Pacific nation.

“Many of these estimated coastal systems could reach ‘tipping points’,” wrote the US Geological Service in a 2021 research report on coastal erosion. These changes, “in which exposure to hazards significantly increases and threatens the form, function and viability of communities, infrastructures and ecosystems today”.

Climate change has arrived and it is time to examine your options on every coast of the United States

Where and why to move nearby

Family, friends, work and all the life patterns we know are strong reasons to stay in the regions we already live in. While there is talk of “climate paradises” these days, it is by no means certain that moving to these regions will improve life. So, for most of us, the best option is to stay close to home and choose higher ground that is as isolated as possible from other negative climatic impacts, including flash floods and increased fire risk.

Choose city life

If you have a spot on the beach today, consider moving to the central core of the closest town. All in all, city life is more efficient and avoids driving. Living in an apartment or condominium with easy, car-free access to services, groceries, restaurants and culture reduces your environmental impact. However, there are tradeoffs, such as the contribution of a growing city to the heat island effects, which can alter local weather patterns.

But city dwellers tend to live in smaller houses and their per capita environmental impact is actually lower than in suburban and rural communities. Apartment sizes in the most populous cities in the United States have started to shrink, although new homes are still growing in many growing cities, according to PropertyShark. Over the past 100 years homes have gotten smaller in New York, San Francisco, Washington, DC, and Miami, but homes are getting bigger in southern, southern California, and booming cities like Seattle and Portland. Choosing an apartment or condominium instead of a single family home will reduce your environmental footprint.

Flash flood risks

Flash floods are also a growing problem for cities far inland, as recently demonstrated by the remnants of Hurricane Ida in Tennessee and the New York City area. Before moving, check FloodFactor.com for the address where you intend to live to identify the risk of rising water. The US Federal Emergency Management Agency also offers maps of locations at risk of flooding and flash floods.

The extreme rainfalls that occur more and more frequently in the age of climate change can turn a small stream or a dry channel into a torrent. Look around every location you consider to see if there is any evidence of an inactive watercourse. Is there a gully or canyon up the hill from the house? A sudden rainstorm or runoff in the spring could make these harmless geological features a threat to the home. For example, bone-dry Phoenix regularly experiences flash floods and 13% of homes in the area are at risk. Flash floods regularly present 20% of Los Angeles homes and 19% of Boise homes.

Avoid the Wildland Urban Interface

Finally, if you long for a move into the woods high uphill and inland, there is one more worry: wildfire. Over the past 30 years, more than 12.6 million homes have been built in the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI), largely forested areas where homes are more threatened by forest fires each year as climate change advances. These houses are often surrounded by trees and dry vegetation, which should be at least 100 meters from the house on each side, but are rare.

Number of homes in WUI relative to total number of homes in the state (%). Source: US Fire Department.

This means an increasing fire risk for 46 million households, 38% of the 120.7 million households in the US FEMA reports that more than 3,000 homes in the WUI are destroyed by fire every year. It’s not just a Western phenomenon – Texas, Florida, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania make up the top 5 states after California that are at increased risk of fire because they build up on or near forests.

Climate change requires rethinking all assumptions about growth and where we live. These guidelines can help you evaluate your decisions, but your own priorities and values ​​will ultimately determine where and how you live. When you downsize your home, you reduce your energy consumption and with it your CO2 emissions. Living in a city or town with sturdy public transportation can also help mitigate your effects. But one thing is certain: Neither of us can escape climate change, so it is time to start planning for adaptation.

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July 21, 2021 – Contact FacilitiesNet editorial team »

Higher education institutions plan to welcome students and faculty back in the fall as the COVID-19 pandemic appears to be easing. What the returning residents will find in these facilities remains to be seen, but it is clear that maintenance and engineering managers and their staff are implementing a range of HVAC tactics and strategies to create safe spaces and keep residents healthy guarantee.

At the University of San Francisco, facility management staff evaluated more than 600 ventilation, air conditioning and filtering devices, replacing 76 non-standard devices. Facility management staff checked for heating and cooling-related issues and checked the quality of ventilation for each unit to prevent airborne transmission of the coronavirus.

At the University of Virginia, facility management has set up a task force that advocates energy savings and at the same time implements measures to ensure a safe indoor climate. The group focused on identifying and evaluating existing HVAC mitigation measures and ranking them for implementation. One area the group focused on is the use of high efficiency filters and increased ventilation rates to create an extra layer of airborne reduction in buildings.

At Simon Frasier University, facility services examined campus ventilation, room entry, measuring airflow, and verifying that the systems met the best indoor air quality standards. The audit covers approximately 1,000 rooms and includes the review of plans and diagrams that are reviewed on site by energy specialists, air conditioning mechanics and HVAC balancing service providers.

Dan Hounsell is the Senior Editor of Facility Market.

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The leaders of San Francisco, known for their cautious stance during the COVID-19 pandemic, applaud the advances that enabled the city to move to the third of four levels of California on Tuesday to reopen.

San Francisco, Marin, and Santa Clara counties have joined San Mateo County in the state’s orange tier, which poses a moderate risk for the virus. Progress means companies can serve more people indoors, reopen bowling alleys, breweries and bars can offer drinks outdoors, and movie theaters can sell popcorn again.

“San Francisco is coming alive,” said Mayor London Breed, who appeared at a press conference Tuesday in an orange dress to mark the city’s new status. She was supported by managing directors to welcome the new relaxed demands.

Even Dr. Grant Colfax, San Francisco’s director of public health, known for making dire assessments during the pandemic, was bullish.

“We are close to the goal,” he said.

The easing of the restrictions comes as some experts continue to warn in late April of another possible wave of coronavirus cases triggered by a highly infectious variant first discovered in the UK. The availability of vaccines is also a wild card. Two counties, Contra Costa and Solano, have extended eligibility to those aged 50 and over despite Solano facing a vaccine shortage.

San Francisco intends to allow most, but not all, of the reopening measures the state allows in the Orange Plains.

Dr. John Swartzberg, an infectious disease expert at UC Berkeley, was dismayed by the officials’ optimism.

“What worries me is that we’re opening up pretty quickly while the storm is still on the horizon,” he said in an interview after the press conference.

Swartzberg said the likelihood of another “spike” in California cases by the end of April was 60%. He noted that infections have already plateaued in the state and are increasing in other parts of the country. The British variant could be the dominant strain of the virus in California by the end of the month, he said.

California “should move in small steps, not big steps,” he said, adding that many people misunderstand what a finish line will look like.

“It won’t mean we’re COVID-free,” he said. “Like influenza, COVID will be background noise and we will learn to live with it. We will be dealing with COVID indefinitely. “

At the press conference, both Breed and Colfax softened their cheers with advice that residents continue to wear masks, keep their distance, wash their hands frequently and get vaccinated when allowed.

“We all need to double our security measures,” said Colfax.

According to Breed, nearly 40% of San Franciscans ages 16+ have been vaccinated, and nearly 80% of those over 65 have received at least one dose.

Offices can now be opened with a capacity of 25%. Breed said she understood that some companies would still allow employees to work remotely, but she hoped employees would “want to come back to work and be with other people.”

“Working at home is boring,” she said. “I want to be with people.”

Colfax found hospital admissions for COVID-19 are at their lowest level in more than four months. In San Francisco, an average of only 35 patients are treated each day. New infections have dropped to around 31 per day, compared to 374 during the winter flood, he said.

Colfax even suggested that the city could soon move to the least restrictive yellow tier to allow hotels, restaurants, fitness centers, and other indoor facilities to reopen fully.

“Let’s hope we can see the color yellow in just a few weeks,” said Colfax.

Officials from San Francisco said they intend to allow outdoor art, theater, and music performances for audiences of up to 50 who stared on April 1, noting they have guidelines for outdoor and audience returns great outdoor entertainment options. These locations can also reopen in April with approved health and safety plans, assigned seating and capacity restrictions.

Most indoor businesses are allowed to run at 50% capacity. Indoor dining is expanded to 50% capacity or 200 guests, and indoor gyms are expanded to 25% capacity or 100 guests. Group fitness classes can also be resumed with a capacity of 25% or 100 people, whichever is lower.

Indoor museums, zoos and aquariums with an approved safety plan can be expanded to 50% of customer capacity. Attendance at places of worship and indoor funerals can reach up to 50%, with masked congregations allowing singing and singing. Indoor cinemas can also be expanded to 50% capacity, up to 200 people.

Childcare and pre-kindergarten programs can be expanded from 16 participants in stable groups to the number permitted by license requirements.

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