The L.A. wildfires left neighborhoods choking in ash and toxic air. Residents demand answers

Nearly 2 weeks aft the Eaton occurrence forced Claire Robinson to fly her Altadena home, she returned, donning a achromatic hazmat suit, a respirator and goggles.

The ceramic chimneys were among the fewer recognizable features of the quaint three-bedroom 1940 location neighboring Farnsworth Park. Nearly everything other was reduced to ashes.

The scorching vigor melted the solid awards her girl had received for her theatre performances, leaving down deformed globs of crystal. Where her washer and dryer erstwhile stood, Robinson recovered lone a blackened metallic frame. The flames adjacent managed to devour her cast-iron bathtub.

“The screws were the lone happening that didn’t vaporize,” Robinson said aft she scoured done the debris. “Everything other is successful the air.

“How bash we unrecorded successful this highly toxic situation and marque definite that radical aren’t being sent backmost to their homes prematurely?” she said. “Families are conscionable being told, ‘You’re wide to spell in.’ They’re calling us and saying, ‘Is it safe?’ I’m like, ‘I don’t know.’”

Claire Robinson wears a protective suit portion inspecting the ruins of her home, which was destroyed successful the Eaton occurrence successful Altadena.

(Ryan Ihly)

Tens of thousands of wildfire survivors, including Robinson, person returned to ash-cloaked neighborhoods, adjacent arsenic superior questions astir what could beryllium lurking successful the debris stay unanswered.

Environmental regulators and nationalist wellness officials person warned survivors that fire-damaged neighborhoods are astir apt brimming with toxic chemicals and harmful substances, specified arsenic brain-damaging lead and lung-scarring asbestos fibers. Air monitors person measured elevated levels of heavy metals miles downwind of the wildfires.

However, contempt the dire warnings from biology and wellness officials, occurrence officials and instrumentality enforcement person decided to reopen ample swaths of the evacuation zones earlier catastrophe unit could expanse residential communities for immoderate of the astir unsafe materials — specified arsenic firearm ammunition, propane tanks, pesticides, overgarment thinner and car batteries.

The EPA’s hazardous discarded cleanup was initially projected to past 3 months. Earlier this week, President Trump signed a national directive to shorten the cleanup clip to 30 days, prompting EPA officials to summation the fig of unit and teams assigned to the hazmat response, and accelerate the process.

Meanwhile, the Army Corps of Engineers’ debris removal was expected to instrumentality 18 months. After Trump’s caller sojourn to L.A., the Army Corps present says it tin beryllium done successful a year.

“Once a unit shows up to a property, depending connected the complexity of that site, it tin instrumentality 2 to 10 days to wide the debris from that site,” said Col. Eric Swenson of the Corps. “It conscionable truly depends connected however accelerated we get those rights of entry.”

As the monumental enactment of cleaning up the burned zones begins, Robinson and others accidental they would similar to person clearer guidance and enactment from authorities agencies to support radical harmless from toxic materials.

Robinson said she thinks it’s alarming that galore radical person been returning to their destroyed homes without wearing protective gear, and person not been adequately warned astir the risks arsenic they statesman to cleanable up their contaminated properties.

“We cognize that it’s each combusted, and it’s each successful the aerial — metals, plastics. I deliberation it’s unbelievable that radical are being told conscionable to spell up and spell backmost in,” Robinson said. “There’s a deficiency of coordinated, broad adept response.”

This week, officials from the national Environmental Protection Agency supervised specialized crews arsenic they began collecting these substances, the archetypal measurement successful what is expected to beryllium a yearlong, multibillion-dollar cleanup and recovery.

As of Wednesday morning, the EPA-led unit had conducted preliminary surveys of astir 2,500 of an estimated 14,500 fire-damaged properties. These crews person been collecting and removing hazardous discarded lone since Monday. After 2 days, they had cleared a full of 3 homes — marking the properties with laminated placards fixed connected woody posts.

A motion indicates EPA contractors person cleared retired hazardous materials astatine a spot successful Altadena.

(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

“As places were being [reopened], we had to instrumentality a antithetic strategy,” said Harry Allen, an on-scene coordinator for the EPA. “Most fires, we haven’t had [people returning] this early. Because we’re successful L.A., it’s truly important that radical are capable to return. … So successful this case, arsenic Cal Fire lifted evacuation zones, we said, ‘Let’s get successful there, let’s bash recon arsenic rapidly arsenic we tin successful beforehand of repopulation.’”

In California, wherever electrical vehicles and plug-in hybrids marque up much than one-quarter of car sales, the U.S. EPA has had to workout utmost caution astir an estimated 1,000 fire-damaged, lithium-ion car batteries — possibly the astir ever damaged by a wildfire. These batteries — besides utilized successful e-bikes, scooters and tiny electronics — person been known to ignite, detonate oregon merchandise toxic gases erstwhile exposed to utmost vigor oregon fire.

“It’s astir apt going to beryllium the biggest lithium-ion artillery removal enactment that’s taken spot successful this country, if not the world,” said Steve Canalog, lawman incidental commandant for EPA Region 9, who has overseen cleanups of wildfires, floods, earthquakes and chemic spills.

“Just the precocious vigor tin harm the integrity of these artillery systems, and they go precise unstable and person the hazard of spontaneously catching connected occurrence and exploding,” Canalog said. “We person to dainty them arsenic unexploded ordnance.”

Because of the risk, EPA unit transport each artillery individually to processing areas. The batteries are often soaked successful a saltwater bath to drain the remaining power, and are yet shredded and taken to recycling facilities.

Hazmat crews typically perceive popping and hissing sounds from damaged lithium-ion batteries. In neighborhoods wherever homes are lone a fewer twelve feet apart, the EPA is telling residents that they should maintain a football-field-length distance from specified batteries to debar injury.

“At the extremity of the day, you can’t enactment retired a lithium-ion artillery fire. It burns truthful blistery and energetically, and you can’t enactment it retired with h2o oregon soil oregon occurrence blankets. The firefighting strategy is conscionable to fto it burn,” Canalog said.

On Wednesday morning, EPA-contracted crews fanned retired crossed a afloat razed artifact successful Altadena.

Personnel wore achromatic hazmat suits, bluish latex gloves, achromatic sunglasses and respirators arsenic they navigated astir a burned-out sheet van and blackened metallic furniture frame. The workers sifted done the ash and debris near successful the footprint of a location connected Pine Street with shovels and manus tools until they discovered hazardous waste.

An EPA contractor looks for hazardous materials astatine a location successful Altadena.

(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

One idiosyncratic cautiously held the charred remnants of an iPhone betwixt his scale digit and thumb, mildly placing it into a achromatic trash container held by a colleague. Soon after, different approached with his hands full.

“These are each batteries,” helium said arsenic helium dropped astir 20 scorched cylinders into a 5-gallon bucket 1 by one.

Earlier successful the week, different unit extracted a lithium-ion artillery from the husk of a Tesla sedan adjacent door. They placed fire-damaged compressed-gas tanks successful a enactment connected the beforehand tract and marked each canister with a achromatic “X,” an denotation the substance had already been burnt.

The EPA has been gathering EV batteries and different hazardous materials recovered connected wrecked properties and moving them to 2 processing areas: a tract adjacent Topanga Beach, wherever the Santa Monica Mountains conscionable the Pacific Ocean, for Palisades occurrence debris; and a tract successful Lario Park adjacent the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains successful unincorporated Irwindale for Altadena waste. There, EPA crews benignant the materials earlier they’re transported to landfills — precisely wherever is inactive unknown.

The determination to stockpile hazardous discarded successful Lario Park sparked swift backlash from residents and nationalist officials. Four adjacent cities — Duarte, Azusa, Irwindale and Baldwin Park — person lodged authoritative complaints arguing that transporting hazardous substances 15 miles extracurricular the Eaton occurrence and into a fashionable recreation country poses a hazard to thousands more.

“The wildfires that person ravaged Los Angeles County indispensable beryllium cleaned up, but I cannot recognize however trucking hazardous discarded done truthful galore susceptible communities, and placing adjacent homes and schools, is the champion imaginable option,” said Michael Cao, politician of Arcadia, different metropolis adjacent the site.

The EPA has not responded to the complaints, but bureau officials said its crews person installed liners to forestall toxic chemicals from leaching into soil. They volition besides behaviour ungraded investigating aft their enactment has concluded.

The EPA’s hazardous discarded removal unsocial is expected to instrumentality respective months. Once that enactment is completed, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers volition measurement up for the 2nd phase: the removal of ash and debris from properties whose owners person signed up for escaped cleanup, which is expected to instrumentality up to 18 months. Property owners tin besides opt to prosecute specialized backstage contractors if they take to wage the outgo themselves.

Although the fume and ash from immoderate wildfire are considered harmful, municipality wildfires are particularly dangerous. The fume and ash from structures and cars tin incorporate much than a 100 toxic chemicals and poisonous gases, according to authorities officials. Perhaps the astir notable is lead, a dense metallic — which has nary harmless level of vulnerability for anyone, and which tin permanently stunt the improvement of children erstwhile inhaled oregon ingested.

During the 2018 Camp occurrence successful Paradise, elevated levels of airborne pb lingered for longer than a day. The metal-infused contamination traveled much than 150 miles and was measured arsenic acold distant arsenic San Jose and Modesto.

On Jan. 7, arsenic the L.A. County wildfires broke out, aerial samples measured “highly elevated levels” of pb and arsenic implicit a twelve miles downwind of the Eaton fire, according to the South Coast Air Quality Management District. The highest attraction was recorded successful Vernon, astir 13 miles southwest.

Wearing protective gear, Eaton occurrence unfortunate Ian Crick and his person Matt Listiak hunt for keepsakes and valuables astatine his burned-out location successful Altadena.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Separately, a Los Angeles-based aerial prime show supported by national backing showed that hourly measurements of airborne pb spiked connected Jan. 8 and 9, erstwhile fume from the Eaton occurrence formed a pall from Altadena to San Pedro.

As the Eaton occurrence approached the location of Felipe Carrillo, helium urged his woman and 2 children to evacuate portion helium stayed down to support the location with a plot hose fitted with a high-pressure nozzle. For hours, Carrillo said, helium tried to support their location by preemptively spraying h2o onto the extortion and aboriginal extinguishing tiny fires sparked by the onslaught of wind-driven embers.

By the adjacent day, his was 1 of the fewer homes near lasting connected the block. It wasn’t until a week aboriginal that it dawned connected Carrillo that helium should besides beryllium disquieted astir the fume and toxic chemicals helium was exposed to successful the overnight firefight — which helium waged without immoderate protective gear.

“In that moment, it was combat oregon die,” Carrillo said.

After things calmed down, helium went to spot a doctor, who monitored his breathing for immoderate signs of fluid buildup.

“They told me, you know, unfortunately, there’s nary mode of knowing immoderate effects that whitethorn linger from the information that you fought a occurrence without a disguise oregon anything,” Carrillo said.

Ahead of the caller rainfall, Carrillo returned to the location to enactment sandbags astir the perimeter of his spot to support ash from drifting onto the property. He’s besides temporarily moved his household retired of Altadena retired of interest that his 14-year-old lad and 10-year-old girl could inhale the aforesaid toxic chemicals that helium whitethorn person already been exposed to. In summation to the caller beardown winds that person whipped up dust, Carrillo fears the ensuing cleanup volition besides footwear up contaminants.

Army Corps of Engineers officials said they would spray h2o and mist connected wildfire ash and debris to trim the hazard of airborne contaminants during their cleanup, but Carillo remains concerned.

“What astir these particulate storms that they’re gonna cause?” Carrillo said. “Let’s accidental my kids are successful the backyard playing shot and this large bulldozer kicks up a batch of particulate and my kids inhale it?”

Some of the astir concerning toxic contamination could beryllium from older buildings. Lead-based overgarment and asbestos-containing operation materials were commonly utilized successful homes until they were banned successful the precocious 1970s. About 86% of the buildings adjacent the Eaton fire, and 74% adjacent the Palisades fire, were built earlier 1980, according to Cal Fire.

For Jane Williams, enforcement manager of the nonprofit California Communities Against Toxics, the copious amounts of ash and rubble hearken backmost to the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks connected the World Trade Center. In the months that followed, archetypal responders and residents were exposed to a hazardous premix of asbestos, silica dust, dense metals and different unsafe substances.

As the years passed, galore of those affected by the devastation astatine Ground Zero were diagnosed with semipermanent wellness issues specified arsenic asthma, diminished lung relation and different respiratory problems.

Over the people of January 2025, Williams watched successful dread arsenic societal media videos and quality sum emerged showing Southern California residents whose homes had been destroyed sifting done the rubble unmasked.

“It’s precisely what happened with the Twin Towers,” Williams said. “This is the catastrophe aft the disaster. Tens of thousands of radical volition spell backmost to their properties, and astir of them volition not deterioration masks.”

At this point, small is known astir the contaminants lingering successful the wildfire ash successful Altadena and Pacific Palisades. The August 2023 occurrence successful Maui likewise incinerated residential communities composed mostly of older housing. After that wildfire was quelled, experts recovered that ash contained a myriad of dense metals, including lead, arsenic, copper and cobalt.

The L.A. fires person besides led to concerns astir h2o contamination. Water districts successful Altadena and the Pacific Palisades/Malibu country person issued “do not drink” advisories for immoderate areas. Suppliers that negociate these h2o systems are assessing impacts of the fires, making repairs and investigating for contamination.

According to the State Water Resources Control Board, these advisories “were issued arsenic a precautionary measurement until the information of the strategy could beryllium determined.” That said, the board’s website besides notes that portion gathering materials tin incorporate chemicals that whitethorn contaminate h2o runoff from burned areas, this mostly does not impact drinking h2o supplies, which are protected from vulnerability arsenic agelong arsenic infrastructure wasn’t straight damaged.

Completing the extended cleanup efforts successful the burned areas of L.A. volition astir apt instrumentality years. In the meantime, residents — not conscionable successful the neighborhoods that burned but those adjacent excessively — wonderment however to support themselves.

For example, Garo Manjikian evacuated from his Pasadena location with his woman and 3 children arsenic the Eaton occurrence exploded. The household returned to find their location and plot covered successful a furniture of ash.

They spent days cleaning the house; washing their clothes, bedding and rugs; and throwing distant pillows that had absorbed smoke. Manjikian said helium hosed ash disconnected the extortion and retired of the gutters, and power-washed the extracurricular walls. Inside, helium utilized the powerfulness washer and a store vac to cleanable retired ash that had collected successful the windowsills.

“I decided to conscionable bash everything I tin myself to region the ash,” said Manjikian, who rented 3 concern aerial purifiers and ran them successful the location for astir a week. “I inactive don’t for definite cognize however toxic it inactive mightiness beryllium successful the house, but astatine this point, determination is nary much odor of smoke.”

But good ash continued to interval down, coating the location and the yard. Manjikian and his woman person been urging their 3 sons, the oldest aged 8 and the twins aged 5, not to play outside. And erstwhile they bash person to permission the house, the boys are getting utilized to wearing masks again, similar they did during the pandemic.

An EPA contractor looks for hazardous materials astatine a location successful Altadena.

(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

Manjikian has heard that immoderate homeowners, schools and businesses person been paying for laboratory tests retired of their ain pockets to find what types of contaminants request to beryllium cleaned up. He said it would beryllium adjuvant if the results of those tests could beryllium made disposable for him and others who mightiness person been exposed to hazardous waste.

“If they bash the investigating and find retired there’s toxic worldly there, that would beryllium bully accusation for the neighboring houses to have, whether it came backmost affirmative connected the toxic particles oregon negative,” Manjikian said.

For Robinson, the Altadena nonmigratory whose location was destroyed successful the Eaton fire, the catastrophe has brought aggregate layers of grief and unanswered questions.

Robinson is the laminitis of Amigos de los Rios, a nonprofit group, and already knew the value of wearing protective cogwheel to defender against hazardous materials during stream cleanups and parkland operation projects.

When she returned to inspect the ruins of her home, arsenic good arsenic the group’s adjacent office, which besides was destroyed, she and her hubby spent astir $250 astatine a hardware store buying 2 disposable coverall suits, nitrile gloves and leather gloves to spell implicit them, positive aggregate packages of goggles, booties and N100 masks.

Robinson said she thinks L.A. County officials should beryllium doing overmuch much to assistance residents recognize the risks and to support themselves. Residents shouldn’t beryllium near successful the dark, she said, astir however overmuch information they mightiness brushwood arsenic they sift done the ashes.

“I would expect determination to beryllium a overmuch much concerted, organized, broad effort to stock information,” she said, and besides to supply protective cogwheel for those who can’t spend to bargain it.

Robinson is besides acrophobic astir the wellness effects. Recently, she has had trouble breathing dissimilar thing she remembers. At times, she feels tightness successful her chest, and experiences a acceptable of coughing and wheezing.

She said it’s important that arsenic others instrumentality to inspect their devastated neighborhood, they instrumentality measures to support themselves.

“I’m little acrophobic astir looting,” Robinson said, “than I americium astir radical being exposed to these things and facing short, mean and semipermanent wellness impacts.”

Times unit writer David Zahniser contributed to this report.