Wildfires and poor air quality in addition to COVID-19 have strained an already thinly stretched hospital system in recent days. (Photo by Bob Dass/Flickr)

The combined effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, crushing heat and the sudden, disastrous onset of wildfire season could intensify the current health care crisis in the Bay Area, according to a group of doctors from the University of California San Francisco.

On Thursday, there were wildfires burning in nearly every Bay Area county. The smoke from those fires, combined with the recent sweltering heat, have resulted in unhealthful air quality throughout the region.

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Kiley Russell writes primarily for Local News Matters on issues related to equity and the environment. A Bay Area native, he has lived most of his life in Oakland. He studied journalism at San Francisco State University, worked for the Associated Press and the former Contra Costa Times, among other outlets. He has covered everything from state legislatures, local governments, federal and state courts, crime, growth and development, political campaigns of various stripes, wildfires and the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.