Reno's Desert Research Institute, Storey County looking for public input on wildfire smoke

by News 4 and Fox 11 staff

Tue, May 31st 2022, 12:27 AM UTC

FILE - In this Aug. 30, 2021, file photo, vehicles idle in bumper-to-bumper traffic after a wildfire evacuation order in South Lake Tahoe, Calif. The threat the Caldor Fire poses to Lake Tahoe residents is exposing differences between laws against price-gouging in Nevada and California. Evacuees are reporting rideshare companies quoting trips from area ski resorts to the Reno-Tahoe International Airport at eight times the normal rate and hotels on the Nevada side of the resort town hiked room rates to $449 per night on Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2021. (AP Photo/Sam Metz, File)

FILE: Seen in a long camera exposure, the Caldor Fire burns as a chairlift sits motionless at the Sierra-at-Tahoe ski resort on Sunday, Aug. 29, 2021, in Eldorado National Forest, Calif. The main buildings at the ski slope's base survived as the main fire front passed. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

FILE: The inversion is keeping smoke from dispersing in the Genesee Valley on August 27. (US Forest Service // Lassen National Forest)

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FILE - In this Aug. 30, 2021, file photo, vehicles idle in bumper-to-bumper traffic after a wildfire evacuation order in South Lake Tahoe, Calif. The threat the Caldor Fire poses to Lake Tahoe residents is exposing differences between laws against price-gouging in Nevada and California. Evacuees are reporting rideshare companies quoting trips from area ski resorts to the Reno-Tahoe International Airport at eight times the normal rate and hotels on the Nevada side of the resort town hiked room rates to $449 per night on Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2021. (AP Photo/Sam Metz, File)

RENO, Nev. (News 4 & Fox 11) — Wildfire smoke blanketed northern Nevada for months during the devastating Dixie and Caldor fires in nearby California communities. Now, officials are hoping public input can help them understand the impact and needs of emergency services for residents.

The Wildfire Smoke Risk Questionnaire aims to better gauge how well northern Nevadans are educated about risks and remedies related to both spontaneous and prolonged wildfire smoke exposure.

Questions include the use of portable air purifiers, mask use, sensitive groups, chemical exposures and more.

Last year, Washoe County issued its first ever Air Quality Emergency as wildfire smoke intensified during the Caldor Fire's peak. Washoe County schools also had to close as air quality in the region remained at a 'hazardous' level.

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The survey was created in a partnership between the Desert Research Institute (DRI) in Reno and Storey County Emergency Management.

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