Toiling in the Smoke:
By Teresa Campbell
Redwood tree burning after CZU August Lightning Complex passed through (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
“The sky darkened‌ It was like night during the day.â€? This could be the opening line to a sci-fi movie, yet it was a farmworker’s description of a California vineyard in mid-September. As fires ravaged close by, he continued to pick grapes, working through the smoke dense enough to blot out the sun. It seemed apocalyptic, and all the while, the farmworkers returned to harvest. Across California, checking the air quality becomes a routine for many in the fall. Changing plans based on the forecasted AQI becomes a seasonal affair. However, many people do not share the choice of minimizing their exposure. Hazardous air quality caused by California wildfires is forcing farmworkers to choose between their health or their income. Many choose the latter, as economic needs take priority over future health repercussions. Environmental justice and human rights activists are calling on the state and federal government to address the disproportionate effect of wildfires on 7 Fall 2020 / Perennial
California’s agricultural communities by creating economic safety nets to protect their health and livelihood. As of January 2021, California wildfires have already decimated an estimated 4.1 million acres of land. According to Cal Fire, climate change has created hotter temperatures through the spring and summer and has shortened periods of snow, which creates longer dry seasons that increase the risk of wildfires. The number of extreme fire risk days has doubled since 1980. This weather intensification is threatening the already short windows that characterize California's harvest seasons. Some types of produce only have a two-week harvest window, driving farm labor during even the worst environmental conditions. This has large repercussions for farmworkers in California, widely considered an agricultural epicenter in the nation. In 2019, over $50 billion dollars was generated by the agricultural sector, over 400 commodities produced in California were shipped worldwide, and hundreds of thousands of
