Armed with two garden hoses attached to a splashing faucet, Matthew Craig battled fire and smoke to save his home from an onslaught of flames that ravaged much of Altadena, a once leafy corner of Los Angeles County. The wind felt like dragon breath, he said, and “we were all eating smoke.”
Although his home is safe, for now, it will be a long time before he and his family feel safe enough to return. According to him, every room of the house was covered with ash, dust, soot and dirt blown in by the wind. “My 5-year-old son, my wife, my dog and I don't want to live in a toxic wasteland.”
As residents begin to return to fire-devastated neighborhoods, experts say they are dealing with a host of toxic hazards in the lingering smoke and ash that can worsen breathing problems.
When neighborhoods go up in smoke, they burn all kinds of man-made materials—vehicles, lead pipes, paint, plastics—which can release toxic fumes and lingering smoke. A recent study found that even for homes that are smoke-proof, smoke and ash swept in can stick to rugs, couches, and drywall. poses health hazards can stay for months.
“There are a lot of people who are losing their homes to it, and it's devastating,” said Colleen Reid, who led the study and who studies the health effects of air pollution at the University of Colorado Boulder. “But even people who are lucky enough to have a good home – they can be exposed to a lot of really toxic substances,” he said. “The wind will blow through every crack.”
This was a particular problem, Professor Reid said, because some people might be more likely to return sooner or deal with the cleanup themselves if their insurance companies didn't accept such ash and soot damage. And ash leaching can send dangerous particles back into the air. A move has been made in some states to force more insurance companies to cover smoke and ash intrusion, he said.
Smog and general air quality The risk persists, said Yifang Zhu, a professor of environmental health at the University of California, Los Angeles. Known as PM2.5, soot and other fine particles can penetrate the lungs and heart and even enter the bloodstream, affecting the entire body.
Unfortunately, weakening Santa Ana winds, which could have helped firefighting efforts, also mean more smoke will stick around, he said. Air quality readings that focus on particulate pollution, such as soot, are also not good indicators of the other complex air pollution hazards that fires bring forth, he said.
Typical air quality index It does not capture volatile organic compounds, for example, it can cause headaches and nausea and is linked to cancer and other diseases in the long term. And N-95 masks are not effective against other pollutants.
“There was a lot of burning and a lot of other air toxics,” he said. “So even if the air monitors don't pick it up, you can smell something.”
For people returning to homes in affected neighborhoods, there are steps they can take to protect themselves, he said. Carbon cartridge respirators work better than masks against toxic air pollution. Children and the elderly, as well as people who are pregnant or have asthma or underlying respiratory or heart conditions, should not participate in the cleanse.
See a doctor for any serious symptoms — chest pain, wheezing, severe coughing — and avoid strenuous exercise. If possible, stay indoors and run air purifiers equipped with activated carbon filters on top of HEPA filters. “It's just a good idea to be careful,” said Dr. Zhu.