Fauquier Health In the News
Curious about how wildfire smoke affects people? We asked a Fauquier pulmonologist.
July 22, 2026
From the Fauquier Times by Tate Hewitt
As two fires in Virginia National Parks add to the invasion of toxic fumes from the Canadian wildfires, Virginians are being asked to stay inside and close their windows.
But that advice may not be possible for everyone to follow, especially those who work outside or don’t have air conditioning. And it can be unclear just how dangerous the smoke clouding out the sun really is.
Dr. Arij Azhar, a board-certified internal medicine, critical care, and pulmonary physician at Fauquier Health, explained why wildfires tend to be worse than other sources of air pollution for everyone, what the smoke can do to our bodies and why some people are at a higher risk.