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The Sacramento fire station will no longer distribute masks to the public after the county has raised concerns about safety, officials said.
Peter Beilenson, director of the county's Department of Health Services, said the county had decided to stop distributing the masks because they were not needed and were potentially dangerous. Approximately 67,000 free N95 respirators were distributed in local fire stations.
Instead of relying on masks, Beilenson said the county was urging people to stay indoors – a much more effective solution for the quality of the unhealthy air caused by campfire smoke.
An ash haze has covered many areas of northern California, leading to an "unhealthy" air quality index. This means that most people who breathe in air can have health problems, no matter how old or fit they are, said Jenny Tan, spokesperson for the District's Quality Management District. the air of Yolo-Solano.
Several schools in the Bay Area and Sacramento have been shut down due to poor air quality produced by fire smoke, including UC Berkeley, Mills College, Stanford University, and the University. Pacific, Cal State East Bay and the State University of Sacramento.
When UC Davis announced the closure of its campus because of smoke, it offered students a limited number of face masks.
Beilenson said the masks are not suitable for bearded children and men, and can be dangerous for people with heart and respiratory diseases. Masks can make breathing more difficult because of the accumulation of carbon dioxide, he said.
"It's more than 50% of the population that could not benefit," he said.
While some healthy adults may benefit from wearing them, face masks offer too much false sense of security and they should be adjusted specifically for each person, said Beilenson.
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