Tesla is taking steps to help shield employees from smoke exposure from the nearby Mosquito Fire. The Mosquito Fire has sent smoke and ash into nearby communities throughout Nevada and California as it continues to burn through thousands of acres of forest.
Currently, the air quality around the Nevada Gigafactory is listed as “unhealthy” to “very unhealthy” due to the wildfire smoke.
With the current forecast not expected to help fire conditions, Tesla recently circulated an internal memo to employees detailing what it is doing to help keep employees safe.
According to a copy of the memo obtained by CNBC, it noted that the company is taking some steps to help improve air quality inside the facility.
One of the steps is to set the building’s HVAC mode to recirculation mode which will help as the mode limits the amount of outside air pulled into the facility.
Tesla had already upgraded their HVAC filters to MERV 13 or higher to capture wildfire particulates and is swapping those filters more frequently.
This is not the first time wildfires have impacted air quality around the Nevada Gigafactory.
Last year, the Caldor Fire led to hazardous air quality throughout the region as it burned more than 220,000 acres.
As massive wildfires are starting to become the norm for California and Nevada, it is not surprising that Tesla is taking some necessary steps to protect workers.
