Farm hands worked in Ventura County despite Thomas Fire smoke

As the Thomas Fire raged in Ventura County and smoke thickened the air in the past week, some farm workers continued to toil in local fields without face protection, according to field worker advocates.

Audio, News Story (California)

Leslie Berestein Rojas
Southern California Public Radio (SCPR)
December 11, 2017
READ THE FULL STORY HERE

Tags: Farm and Migrant Workers, Workers Rights

Organizations mentioned/involved: California Rural Legal Assistance Inc. (CRLA)

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DETAILS

Smoke from the fire that sparked a week ago and scorched about 200,000 acresdrifted over a large swath of Ventura County. Officials have warned people in the fire areas to avoid the acrid smoke, which poses health hazards to anyone breathing in the polluted air.

But even as the smoke covered affected agricultural fields, farm worker advocates say some field hands continued to work unprotected.

“We confirmed that there were workers out picking strawberries and cabbage in local fields in Oxnard, and some of them did not have face masks,” said Yajaira Valdovinos, an attorney with the Oxnard office of California Rural Legal Assistance, a legal nonprofit serving low-income communities.