Nevada senator seeks new ideas to address wildfire smoke

By SCOTT SONNER
Associated Press

RENO, Nev. (AP) — Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto is urging firefighters, scientists, teachers and moms to help form new strategies to deal with increasingly unhealthy air quality in Nevada caused by wildfires. The Nevada Democrat hosted a roundtable gathering in Reno Wednesday with experts who shared their challenges and frustrations on numerous fronts as wildfires worsen in California. The 10 worst days recorded for small particulate pollution over the past 22 years in the Reno-Sparks area all have occurred over the past 11 months. Paramedics are responding to 52% more respiratory distress calls than normal, including 458 already this month compared to a month-long norm of 350.