California residents Anita Ghazarian and Simon Penny live in a house at the western edge of Altadena, although they were not directly affected by the Eaton wildfire flames, their house was still covered in ashes. Further east in the burning zone, they also own a rental property that sustained less damage.
Ghazarian’s insurance adjuster informed her that once power is restored, the rental property would be habitable.
“How can I have my tenants move back into a backyard covered in ashes and debris, surrounded by houses in the burn area? Will children play in the backyard?” Ghazarian questioned.
In the maze of online maps, residents might find themselves in an uncertain space: their houses might be located in areas marked as “normal” by the EPA, indicating that residents have been resettled after evacuation, and also marked green on the county maps (showing no or minimal damage), yet these places are covered in ashes and surrounded by flattened buildings.
A study conducted by the University of Colorado at Boulder investigated the health effects of smoke following the 2021 local Marshall Fire.
Following the Marshall Fire in Colorado, over half of the surveyed hundreds of people reported symptoms caused by wildfire smoke six months post-fire, even after extensive remediation measures were taken.
Unburned houses contain high levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), including benzene and toluene, brought in by ashes and smoke from burned houses.
In terms of scope and scale, the disaster in Los Angeles appears to be more severe than the Marshall Fire, posing a greater threat to the local environment.
The fires in Pacific Palisades and Altadena in Los Angeles County burned an area of up to 40,000 acres, around 60 square miles, resulting in 25 deaths and over 16,000 structures destroyed, turning the entire area into a wasteland.
Five simultaneous fires altogether destroyed more than 55,000 acres of land, roughly three times the size of Manhattan.
Jane Williams, Executive Director of the nonprofit organization California Communities Against Toxics (CCAT), stated, “We’re in the midst of a disaster after the disaster.”
She emphasized in an interview with the Epoch Times, “The same thing that happened with 9/11 is happening here. Everyone just wants to get back to normal. They’re pressuring government officials to tell them everything is safe, that everyone can return to normal life and have confidence to drink water and breathe freely.”
Nearly three weeks later, some residents are still not allowed to return to see their homes in rubble, retrieve mementos, or fully understand what happened.
The conflicts between the need for rebuilding homes and the incomprehensible hazards left by the fires will determine the largest post-disaster rebuilding effort in California’s history.
Williams has worked with government and community cooperation to handle some of the most severe disaster aftermaths in recent memory, including the 2023 Maui wildfires. She anticipates that advocating for cautious approaches, even in environmentally conscious California, will be challenging.
“You’ll see workers in hazmat suits on one side of the street, wearing Tyvek protective clothing, boots over shoes and gloves, cleaning up hazardous waste. And on the other side of the street, you’ll see children playing in the playground,” she said.
Federal agencies responsible for disaster area cleanup have established reinforced safety protocols for collecting and handling hazardous waste and debris, but there are still some critical blind spots.
In particular, questions remain about whether structures left by the fires are suitable for habitation, and whether the air, soil, and water in the affected areas are safe.
In the areas affected by the Eaton fire, this issue is likely to become a central concern, with thousands of intact houses surrounding the destroyed ones but still permeated with heavy smoke and ashes.
Individually, each person’s physical response to the risks varies. While some residents’ homes have survived and they never left, others are eager to return home immediately. However, the lack of clear guidance or standards for federally-led cleanup efforts is leaving more people in distress.
As displaced residents face future challenges, many wonder who ultimately is responsible for protecting their health and safety. Why does the burden of proof seem to lie on their own shoulders?
Regarding the soil covered by volcanic ash, Ghazarian is unsure if she needs to clean it up manually.
In the second phase of the federal cleanup plan, the Army Corps of Engineers will remove six inches of soil from damaged and destroyed properties. This process may take up to a year or longer, and it is unclear if it applies to intact buildings like Ghazarian’s rental property. The ongoing first-phase work includes the enforced removal of hazardous substances by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
At a recent community meeting for Eaton fire recovery, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works stated there are no plans to test the soil. The EPA indicated that testing of air, soil, and water is the responsibility of local agencies.
Ghazarian mentioned the insurance company has no action plan others for this work, which would cost thousands of dollars. They said, “No, this is not our problem.”
Her partner, Penny, who grew up in Australia and is accustomed to wildfires, expressed surprise at the lack of organized response by authorities to conduct baseline testing of ash before the anticipated rainfall arrives.
“No county, state, or any obvious federal agency is in charge of testing the toxic ash produced by fires. No one is held accountable,” Penny said. “The Army Corps of Engineers told us it’s the responsibility of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works, the Public Works Department said it’s the responsibility of Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Chair Kathryn Barger, Barger said it’s the EPA’s responsibility. They pass the buck around, so where’s the oversight?”
Both the Los Angeles County Public Health Department and Public Works have not responded to requests for comment.
In this vacuum, displaced neighbors have come together using social media to organize. They share results of heavy metal testing by private contractors on Facebook pages, group emails, Zoom video conferences, and text messages, and consider how to map the data.
They also share tips, for example: if you request soil testing but your insurance company refuses, you can inquire directly with the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
In a Reddit forum, a resident of Altadena posted the results of a home inspector testing lead and asbestos in dust samples from her house. The results showed lead levels 33 times the federally and state allowed levels, and this result was found in an area without visible ash, in houses outside the burn area.
The resident wrote, “While I know I can clean indoors, what worries me is all of these substances remain outside on the street, in the soil, and our yard.”
Altadena residents have reasons to be concerned about asbestos, as people still remember that the public health crisis after 9/11 was primarily attributed to asbestos.
In the Eaton fire, out of 41,128 buildings inside the burn area, 35,543 were built before 1979. This means they are more likely to contain asbestos. Asbestos, an inexpensive fire retardant material, was widely used in construction from the 1930s until it was gradually phased out by the late ’70s and early ’80s.
“This is the largest cleanup in California’s history,” Williams said.
Williams mentioned that the largest cleanup effort prior was caused by decades of pollution from the former lead battery giant Exide in Los Angeles, which was only a small fraction of the scale of this California fire cleanup and had extensive safeguards in place such as third-party monitoring, air monitoring, extensive worker safety, and community safety protocols.
“All of the protections we’ve taken have gone out the window here. We’re talking about having to remove ash, debris, and toxic waste across up to 50 square miles,” Williams said.
Even in Penny and Ghazarian’s unburned home, there remains a significant amount of volcanic ash.
“Can you plant flowers? Can you eat off it? Can your children play in the backyard?” Ghazarian asked, “In 3, 5, 10, 20 years, what will happen to the people living in that house?”
She struggles to find a company capable of testing the long list of known post-fire pollutants.
“We’re left at the mercy, waiting to see when we can return. Is it safe here? What about our tenants? Who’s responsible for all of this?” Ghazarian questioned.
Faced with these issues, residents launched a petition requesting clear standards for restoration and testing, claiming a lack of guidance presents risks for them.
“Our goal is not to keep people away from their homes. On the contrary, we’re asking for official guidelines to explain to homeowners and insurance companies what conditions are safe,” the petition stated.
“If homeowners want to return ahead of schedule, the final choice should be in the hands of the homeowners, but we don’t want homeowners to be forced to return to unsafe situations,” the petition read.
Almost a quarter of a century after the 9/11 attacks in New York, the number of people who died from exposure to pollutants released from the collapse of the Twin Towers was more than twice the number of deaths from the attacks themselves. These individuals died from respiratory diseases, heart diseases, digestive system diseases, and cancers.
In the days following 9/11, the then-head of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) assured the public that the air was safe to breathe and later apologized for this statement. Subsequent investigations revealed that officials deliberately downplayed the dangers in the absence of sufficient data.
As of 2021, 24,000 people have been diagnosed with illnesses related to 9/11, including mesothelioma, a rare and aggressive malignant tumor caused by exposure to asbestos, which may take decades to manifest.
Drawing parallels between the California wildfires and 9/11 often sparks strong public reaction. With the long shadow of the global COVID-19 pandemic, many remain highly cautious of any hurried panic deemed a threat to public health.
The massive toxic ash cloud that engulfed Lower Manhattan in the aftermath of 9/11 and the California wildfires are not entirely the same, but both events, along with other modern disasters, demonstrate how toxic pollutants spread and continue to threaten human health for years.
However, the problem is not only the scale of the fires, but also what the fires burned.
The fires meandered through a convergence of wilderness and urban landscapes, driven by wind-driven hellfire melting electric cars, solar panels, fuel tanks, lithium-ion batteries, plastics, asbestos, and releasing large amounts of harmful toxins into the air, water, and soil.
Local government agencies have indefinitely closed miles of South California’s beaches, citing additional residual substances post recent rainfall have made the sea water and sand unsafe, and local water authorities have issued orders banning the consumption of untreated tap water in the foreseeable future.
The pollution released by the fires concentrates in the ash, a known hazard that can cause acute irritation, chronic diseases, and an increased risk of cancer. Los Angeles County officials warned that even brief exposure to asbestos and heavy metals like lead and arsenic can lead to severe illnesses years later.
Chemicals found in urban wildfire smoke are also known carcinogens, absorbed by the human body through inhalation, ingestion, or skin contact, some at levels several orders of magnitude higher than typically found in wildfires, including PAHs, dioxins, furans, and benzene, volatile organic compounds.
Fire smoke exacerbates existing respiratory illnesses, a commonly acknowledged fact. However, increasing evidence suggests even short-term exposure to fire smoke can impact inflammation, respiratory infections, all-cause mortality rates, as well as cardiovascular diseases like heart attacks and strokes in healthy individuals. Research estimates that over 52,000 Californians died prematurely from particulate matter generated by wildfires from 2008 to 2018. A study funded by the National Institutes of Health titled “Wildfire smoke exposure and dementia risk, 12/18/2024” found a clear association between fine particulate matter from wildfires and dementia risk.
Ed Avol, Clinical Professor of Medicine at USC, explained in a recent network seminar on the health impacts of fires organized by the California Coalition for Clean Air, that ultrafine particulate matter, released in wildfires, affects nearly all organ systems, including the brain, influencing metabolism, cognition, and memory.
“These particles are so small, they can actually bypass many body defenses and enter the body through the bloodstream. Once in the bloodstream, they can circulate to nearly every organ system in the body,” Professor Avol explained.
However, many people are still unaware of this.
Avol suggested that existing air quality sensors are unable to capture these particles, which are smaller than those routinely monitored for air quality indices by government agencies.
After the smoke clears, experts when asked how Los Angeles County residents can know they’re safe, admit there is no definitive answer as it depends on many unknown factors.
Some of the most severe chemical pollutants can be absorbed or attached to particulate matter in the smoke or ash, spreading far and wide or depositing on surfaces and within homes, continuing to pose risks in the years to come.
Jane Williams of CCAT recalled researchers found lead particles 150 miles away from the Paradise town fires in their investigation. “That’s why the impact of health of 9/11 spread so far,” she said.
She remarked that California’s current issue is that no government agency is reliably tracking the most severe toxins produced during fires.
“We don’t see monitoring of toxic air pollutants. All monitoring is for regional pollutants in the air quality index. Some self-righteous people might say, if the air quality index is fine, everything’s okay, but even if you live near volcanic ash, even a few miles from the ash zone, the air quality index may be perfect. However, the air still contains asbestos and metals,” Williams explained.
The South Coast Air Quality Management District emailed the Epoch Times that they have been regularly measuring lead, arsenic, and other toxic metals at several locations across the entire Los Angeles County basin.
Following the Eaton and Pacific Palisades fires on January 7, analysis data showed an increase in toxic metal levels, even compared to other fires in the area, but a “significant decrease” after January 12, now near pre-fire levels.
The organization stated that determining the range of ash and dust fallout is very challenging and depends on factors like wind direction and speed, but the ash likely already landed and settled from the initial smoke plume, and rainfall may help prevent the ash from re-suspending in the air.
However, remaining volcanic ash may dry out and re-suspend across the entire area, especially in strong wind conditions.
“As for how long this will persist, there’s no concrete answer at present,” the organization thought, “We’ve seen ash dispersal even on windy days in burned wilderness fires until spring when vegetation regrows. However, these fires affect densely populated areas, so the situation with urban ash may be dramatically different.”
On January 31, over three weeks after the forest fires occurred, the organization announced they will conduct additional monitoring at the burn scars in Palisades and Eaton fires in response to requests from the EPA. They mentioned that in the coming four weeks, they will deploy two mobile monitoring vans to test for toxic metals and volatile organic compounds. The results will help determine the monitoring station locations for testing particulate matter, lead, arsenic, asbestos, among others.
Previously inquired about the deployment of these vans, the organization had mentioned it was a federally-led task under the EPA’s jurisdiction.
Under the guidance of the California government, local water suppliers in the fire-affected areas have issued drinking water advisories, recommending residents avoid heating tap water and ensure proper ventilation during showers.
Some believe this may still not be enough.
Mark Gold, Director of Water Solutions and Environmental Health at the Natural Resources Defense Council in New York, believes water suppliers must be given time to test for pollutants in the water and ensure infrastructure is not damaged.
“I don’t want to tell water companies how to do their job, but I will say this—if you get a warning, I’d suggest not using the water until you have health-safe certification. Because some pollutants, like VOCs, will volatilize when you shower, and you might inhale these substances,” he said.
“Does the inhaled dose pose a significant threat to health? I don’t know,” Gold added, “I’m just saying, it’s enough to raise my concern, and I’d suggest, if you’re already not drinking this water, don’t use it for washing or cooking either.”
After the Camp Fire destroyed Paradise in 2018, researchers found benzene levels to be 1,000 times the allowable standard, affecting both burned and intact homes.
“It took months before they truly handled all these homes, tested them, and cleansed them,” Gina Solomon, Program Director of Occupational, Environmental, and Climate Medicine at UC San Francisco, explained in a network webinar hosted by the California Coalition for Clean Air.
Solomon participated in a survey of over 5,000 water samples, showing when firefighters dig systems, contamination smoke likely inhaled into plastic pipes due to pressure drops.
She mentioned in burned regions, a comprehensive inspection and cleaning of water systems are needed over a six-month period.
Gold reckoned that monitoring drinking water might be easier to manage than air or soil monitoring, but the content of the monitoring matters.
“I won’t say it’s easy… because the components that could exist may not be routinely analyzed.,” he said. Gold pointed out that during fire investigations, volatile organic compounds like benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene increased, substances that would be monitored early, but other “unusual” toxins from urban fires may not be monitored.
“The worst-case would be something like dioxins, substances not routinely monitored, and how water suppliers monitor changes in their system may also be a concern,” he said.
Gold hoped the EPA and State Water Resources Control Board would communicate with water suppliers before fully resuming water usage.
The Epoch Times reached out to the State Water Resources Control Board’s Drinking Water Division for information on coordination with the federal government on water quality standards but has not received a response.
Natalie LaFourche and Nicole Stephenson consider themselves fortunate. The fire engulfed much of Altadena, burning over 9,000 buildings and causing 17 deaths. Luckily, the fire only brushed past their homes without direct impact.
Being twin sisters aged 46 and lifelong residents of Altadena, they are not eager to return home.
Although their homes remain intact, they worry about exposure to toxic compounds and volcanic ash still shrouding their community, possibly leading to long-term soil and water contamination.
They have a reason to remain cautious.
In the late ’90s, their mother, Shirley Ganther, was diagnosed with a rare invasive cancer—leiomyosarcoma. Their family became protagonists in another environmental disaster saga.
Ganther was one of over 50 plaintiffs in a large-scale lawsuit alleging the nearby NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Cañada Flintridge contaminated groundwater, causing illnesses in residents drinking tap water or using it to shower.
The plaintiffs’ counsel contended that statistically, cases of rare cancers in such a small area were almost impossible. The case eventually settled confidentially.
“When you know more, you do better, right?” LaFourche said. “When you’ve been through lessons like ours, with a completely healthy woman diagnosed with such a rare cancer at our age, all signals make you take the right steps.”
“It was a very slow and painful death, because we knew everything we could know, so we have to protect our children and families rigorously to ensure we don’t have the same fate again,” she added.
One toxicologist from the plaintiffs believed bathing was more likely to intake harmful chemicals compared to drinking water.
The JPL, spanning 176 acres, was officially listed as “superfund” site in 1992, signifying long-term federal oversight for pollution of local groundwater from previously shared research and development activities. The nonprofit faced multiple litig