Air Quality in Fresno, is it really that bad ?? (Sacramento: affordable houses, schools)

[zainuby]

Hi there,

I have heard about poor quality of air in Fresno, kids getting ASthma and all. Is it really that bad?
I have two kids, 3 and 8, should i truly worry about as a risk to live in Fresno?
I want to move to Fresno because of affordable houses and a relaxed living, and that's what I want for my family.

Any thoughts on the air quality?

thanks

[TowerGuy]

I used to live in Fresno and I can tell you that yes, the air quality is bad, very bad. Just to give you some perspective, I had chronic sinusitis when I lived in Fresno, I was always sick. My sister had asthma and my mother was developing asthma. My father had sinus infections all the time. When I would visit L.A. I could breathe easier...IN L.A.!!! We now live in Dallas and with all the rain that we get here, the amount of wind that blows the pollution away, I no longer have chronic sinusitis, haven't been sick a day since I moved away. My sister and mother don't have the slightest hint of asthma and my father hasn't had any sinus infections. We have lived here for 5 years.

Fresno has a very high rate of asthma with children and the elderly being most affected. The pollution from all towns in the Central Valley as well as the pollution that blows in from San Fransisco gets stuck in the valley due to the mountains. Combine that geographic factor with the lack of rain and it makes for very tough, hot, polluted summers. If you want to live near the San Joaquin Valley then try Sacramento. It is cheaper than the coast and since it is closer to the Bay Area it receives more offshore wind than Fresno. More importantly Sacramento sees much more annual rainfall, about 10 inches more than Fresno does. Rain fall is key to clean air. Here in Frisco, a northern suburb of Dallas we see roughly 40 inches of rain fall and 7 inches of snow (36 inches this past winter) annually.
Given my experience and the experience of all my friends and family in Fresno, I am sure they would all join me in telling you to think twice and definitely consider the air quality before moving a 3 and 8 year old child to the Central Valley. Hope I was some help.

[FresnoFacts]

The numbers look like this in comparison to other parts of California. Is Fresno pristine air, no. But how you look at these other parts of the state will determine what these numbers mean to you.

Number of days ozone levels exceeded federal standards in 2009 per Calif ARB:
Fresno (measured at Sierra SkyPark) - 34 days
Folsom - 35 days
Simi Valley - 24 days
Santa Clarita - 64 days
San Bernardino - 48 days
Palm Springs - 54 days

Fresno County's asthma rate is higher than the state average (Marin and Solano Counties are also much higher than the state average) but there seems to be uncertainty about the full reason for the high rate.

The Fresno air quality is actually much improved (now down to about 1/4 the ozone levels seen just 10 years ago)
MRGDSITEMYR Display
but the local asthma rate has not declined.

Asthma is rising everywhere in the US, which is the real mystery.
Asthma Rates Rising Across the U.S. - MSN Health & Fitness - Asthma

And if air quality is part of it, why are the asthma rates higher in Oregon, Washington, Maine, Vermont, etc compared to California which has worse air quality overall? Check out this map:
http://www.statehealthfacts.org/comp...p?cat=2&ind=87

I wish we had a definitive answer about the cause of asthma which would help with decisions, but you have to make choices you think are right for you.

[Fontucky]

I don't think ozone's the problem in Fresno as much as ag-related pollution is.

[FresnoFacts]

But ag would not explain why asthma rates are rising all over the US as I linked earlier. We don't have more farming developing in the US.
Asthma Rates Rising Across the U.S. - MSN Health & Fitness - Asthma

Nor would ag explain why the hospitalization rates of children under 17 for asthma attacks (the worse cases) looked like this, not much ag in Alameda County:
Alameda County - 21.4 per 1,000
Fresno County - 18.3 per 1,000
San Bernardino County - 14.6 per 1,000
California - 10.3 per 1,000
Asthma Hospitalization Rate, by Age Group: 2008 - Kidsdata.org

Environmental factors are likely part of it. Maybe genetics too.

But I have also seen studies correlating asthma to poverty. So areas with more people in poverty may show higher asthma rates. But why, its an interesting connection.

I'm far from an expert but everything I read indicates it is complex with multiple factors.

There is no single good answer about the cause which means ultimately someone has to look at whatever risk factors they believe are most important to them.

[sms1967]

It's not worse than L.A. It's worse than much of L.A. but let's be real. The air is bad... asthma can happy quite easily and, at certain times of the year, the air/heat combo can force local schools to cancel afternoon sporting events.

Supposedly it's better now than 10 years ago. Fresno/Clovis offers some nice things... good education, relatively cheap housing and proximity to popular destinations, but air quality is certainly not something we boast about.

[Kibbiekat]

It really is that bad. check out airnow.gov. It has the highest asthma rate around. The #1 reason we moved away was the bad air.

[CamaroGuy]

Most of the cities in the San Joaquin valley have bad air. That area is not called the Armpit of California for nothing.

[BVitamin]

Don't know if you're still pondering the possibility but here's a government site on air quality. Hope it helps.

AIRNow - Homepage

I live about forty minutes from Fresno and as of today I live in one of the top five cities in California with bad air. Also since I moved here several years ago, I noticed I had started developing a few allergies and I never had allergies before in my life. Planning to move next year, allergies being one of the reasons.

[Bluesmama]

Asthma in the Oregon Willamette Valley is very high, too, because of all the allergies to grass seed and numerous others pollens. I'm quite convinced that I have some allergy to mold spores in the winter-spring months. Point is, certain "clean" areas still have this problem.

Whenever I return to the Central Valley I usually feel better despite the pollution. I do think the dust-blowing wind certain areas trigger allergies, too.