https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/07/180726161029.htm

The study by Sonya Sachdeva of the Forest Service's Northern Research Station and Sarah McCaffrey of the Rocky Mountain Research Station, "Using Social Media to Predict Air Pollution during California Wildfires," was recently published by the International Conference on Social Media & Society.

Whether it is caused by wildfire or prescribed fire, smoke can have serious health ramifications, including aggravating respiratory and cardiovascular conditions. In a previous study, Sachdeva looked at 700 tweets related to the King Fire in California and found that they were a reliable predictor of air quality related to that fire. In new research, Sachdeva and McCaffrey evaluated 39,000 tweets that included the names of the state's most destructive wildfires of the 2015 season.