{
  "abstract": "Increasing wildfire activities in the United States have generated far-reaching effects on air pollution and human health. While prescribed fires are used as a preventive strategy to reduce wildfire risks, the health impacts of their smoke remain uncertain. Small-scale case studies indicate that prescribed fires generally produce lower pollutant emissions than uncontrolled wildfires, potentially benefiting air quality. However, the extent to which this translates into reduced population-level smoke exposure remains uncertain due to a lack of robust, large-scale quantitative evidence. Moreover, the factors driving differences in air quality impacts between prescribed fires and wildfires were underexplored. Using fire data in California, Florida, and Georgia (2006-2020) and a causal forest approach, we quantified and compared the impacts of prescribed fires and wildfires on air quality, assessed their differences in population-level smoke exposure, and identified key factors influencing their smoke exposure levels. On a per square-kilometer basis, prescribed fires resulted in over six times less population-level smoke exposure compared to wildfires. Additionally, prescribed fires were associated with lower smoke exposure in regions with higher relative humidity and precipitation. This work could enable the broad risk-benefit assessment to guide the judicious use of prescribed fires and optimize public health outcomes while mitigating wildfire threats.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": "2609.12977",
  "author_total": 4,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "Ting-Hsuan Chang"
    },
    {
      "name": "Minghao Qiu"
    },
    {
      "name": "Yaguang Wei"
    },
    {
      "name": "Xiao Wu"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/ce2nbbrw08ewm.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.48550/arxiv.2609.12977",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "ce2nbbrw08ewm",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.12977",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "LicenseRef-arXiv-nonexclusive-1.0",
  "licence_label": "arXiv licence",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "http://arxiv.org/licenses/nonexclusive-distrib/1.0/",
  "metadata_licence": "CC0-1.0",
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "arxiv",
      "stat.AP"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": null,
  "pdf_url": "https://arxiv.org/pdf/2609.12977",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-09-11",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/ce2nbbrw08ewm.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:21:17Z",
      "native_id": "2609.12977",
      "source": "arxiv",
      "url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.12977"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "mathematics",
      "origin": "arxiv:stat.AP",
      "subfield": "statistics"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Evaluating differential air quality impacts of prescribed fire and wildfire in the United States",
  "title_text": "Evaluating differential air quality impacts of prescribed fire and wildfire in the United States",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:21:17Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/ce2nbbrw08ewm",
  "venue": "arXiv",
  "versions": []
}