Community cleaner air spaces during landscape fire events: What do we know?

This commentary summarises current evidence, guidelines, and research and policy gaps in relation to the implementation and use of community cleaner air spaces (CCASs). CCASs may be established by jurisdictional health authorities or local governments during periods of severe and prolonged poor air quality, usually as a result of landscape fire smoke, with the aim of reducing smoke exposure across communities. We found very limited published evidence evaluating their establishment, use, effectiveness (both for reducing exposures and improving health outcomes) and their reach into higher-risk populations. Few guidelines exist to assist government agencies to set up a CCAS and effectively communicate their benefits to the community. In a warming world, with increasing risks of landscape fires, urgent research is needed to evaluate this potentially useful climate adaptation response and translate this evidence into policy and action.