Wildfire smoke

The high heat of California wildfires transformed a benign metal into a toxic form, new research finds. Exposure to high levels of hexavalent chromium is linked to increased rates of lung cancer.

Congressional investigators say the use of a regulatory loophole to erase smoke pollution from the official record is on the rise.

A decade ago, about 200,000 Californians lived in areas where they were exposed to extreme smoke. By 2020, 4.5 million did.

The state rarely penalized employers for breaking the rules under Douglas Parker, who now leads the federal agency charged with ensuring worker safety, according to an investigation by KQED and The California Newsroom.

On this week’s Valley Edition: Rising temperatures have changed how wildfires behave - what that means for the future of the Sierra Nevada. Plus, living…

Dangerous Air, an investigation by NPR's California Newsroom into the rise of western wildfire smoke and the extent it harms health, is based on more than…

State guidelines require employers to provide outdoor workers with N95 masks for voluntary use when the air quality index is above 151. On Monday, as AQI…

An air quality alert first issued last week was extended until Thursday morning due to continuing wildfire smoke. The San Joaquin Air Pollution Control…

Fire crews are starting to gain ground on wildfires burning in Sequoia National Park and Sequoia National Forest. But the effects are still being felt as…