As California experiences a dangerous heat wave, firefighters are battling massive wildfires in a farming Northern area.

MONDAY, JULY 8
PROGRAM #10430 12:00 PM PT

Wildfire Season: Early Start. As California experiences a dangerous heat wave, firefighters are battling massive wildfires in a farming Northern area. Thousands are under mandatory evacuation orders. This early surge of wildfires is causing concern about what to expect for the hotter months. How are the wildfires impacting rural communities? Who is being most impacted? How can farm workers protect themselves from toxic wildfire smoke?

Guests: Ricardo Coronado, Spokesperson, Cal Fire, Sacramento, CA; Amalia Rodas, Coordinator, Community Adaptation Program, Disaster Cycle Services, American Red Cross National Headquarters, Butte County, CA.

First Worker Protections from Extreme Heat. OSHA released a proposed rule on preventing heat injury and illness amongst the U.S. workers, the nation’s first-ever federal regulation on heat stress in the workplace. The administration accelerated the announcement as the summer has already seen record-breaking heat, and days after OSHA announced proposed penalties for a case involving a 41-year-old farmworker who died of heatstroke while working in Florida last year.

Guest: Julie Su, Acting Labor Secretary, US Department of Labor, Washington, DC.

Photo: nwcg.gov 

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