IN THE News

Wildfire Smoke and COVID-19

The U.S. Forest Service has published a three-page fact sheet with information about the impacts of wildfire smoke during the COVID-19 pandemic. (https://wildfiretoday.com/documents/SmokeCOVID19FactSheet.pdf) It covers the effects of smoke during the pandemic, who is most at risk, symptoms, masks and face coverings, and how to minimize potential health effects from wildfire smoke. The document has useful information and many links to additional materials.

Some of the excerpts include:

• Wildfire smoke is a complex mixture of air pollutants that are harmful to human health.
• Exposure to air pollutants in wildfire smoke can irritate the lungs, cause inflammation, alter immune function, and increase susceptibility to respiratory infections, including COVID-19.
• Recent scientific publications (Conticini et al., 2020 & Travaglio et al., 2020) suggest that air pollutant exposure worsens COVID-19 symptoms and outcomes.
• Those with or recovering from COVID-19 may be at increased risk of health effects from exposure to wildfire smoke due to compromised heart and lung function caused by the disease.

2020 Mid-Year Lumber Market Report

Contract Lumber reported that the 2020 lumber market had three distinct movements over the first 26 weeks of the year. In the first nine weeks, the market rose. Over the next six weeks, the market gave back those gains. And for the past 11 weeks, the lumber market has had steady increases that have pushed Contract Lumber’s Commodity Lumber Price Index above the $400 plateau for the first time in 81 weeks.

Not since September 2018, has the index topped $400. In contrast, 2018 had 35 straight weeks where the index printed over $400 (eight weeks over $500). The market spent the last quarter of 2018, and all of 2019, hovering around the $300 level. The lumber market traded in a very narrow range all of last year. Then we turned the calendar to a new decade, and things changed.

For a full report, visit http://www.contractlumber.com/blog/2020/7/1/2020-mid-year-lumber-market-report.