UC Davis researchers are conducting two studies to better understand how the November 2018 Camp Fire affected the health of people in the region. They hope Northern Californians will join one or both of the studies.
Survey study
Those who were living in Butte and other counties affected by the fire are asked to answer an online questionnaire — called the UC Davis California Wildfire and Health Impacts Survey — about their daily lives, property and health before the fire and immediately afterward, along with their current situations.
More information and a link to the survey are available here.
Pregnancy study
Women who were pregnant during or right after the fire are invited to help determine if the fire affected their health and the health of their babies. The Bio-Specimen Assessment of Fire Effects (B-SAFE) study involves collecting samples such as hair, toenails, saliva, blood, urine and, if possible, placentas and umbilical cord blood. The samples will be used to examine biological markers of and physiologic responses to wildfires and smoke exposure.
Additional details and enrollment criteria for B-SAFE are available here.
About the UC Davis Environmental Health Sciences Center
These two are part of a series of wildfire studies funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences through the UC Davis Environmental Health Sciences Center.
The center links experts in multiple UC Davis schools — medicine, veterinary medicine, engineering, biological sciences, letters and science, and agricultural and environmental sciences — for studies on the effects of environmental events, chemicals, pollutants, and disasters on disease and disability. The ultimate goal is to foster new approaches and policies that protect communities from harmful exposures. More information is on the center's website.
