EDITOR’S SUMMARY: Once you’ve been through the chaos and uncertainty of a festering, unrelenting wildfire in your neighborhood or nearby area, you’re likely to gain a heightened sense of what’s meaningful to you. It’ll make you think of survival in a way you may never have before, including evacuation plans, breathing clean air, knowing who best to communicate with in a time of emergency, and learning which supplies are most necessary for your immediate basic needs.
*This article was updated on 01-30-25.
Written by Jennifer Wolff-Gillispie HWP, LC
Edited by Nicki Steinberger, Ph.D.
California is known for many things: Hollywood, warm, sunny beaches—winter, spring, summer, and fall (Southern CA)—the Golden Gate Bridge, nine national parks, health-conscious “foodies,” miles and miles of beautiful shoreline, the high cost of housing, and Disneyland to name a handful. While in the past the Golden State was not necessarily known for wildfires, they have become such a part of life that officials have given them their own season: May through November. More recently, however, with years of drought from lack of rainfall, and the inability (or unwillingness) to divert more rainwater for collection into reservoirs—to be used for urban water needs (instead of routing it out to sea)—California’s drought has turned its fire season to year-round.
This isn’t the only way that California policy makers have failed at preparing for inevitable fire dangers. Efficient fire mitigation measures like controlled burns that rid areas of dry tinder have been stalled because of red tape. Budget cuts across California starting in 2020 have reduced the wages of firefighters by 7.5% in exchange for two more days off per month. In Los Angeles, a month before wildfires broke out on January 7, 2025, the fire department budget was cut by 17.6 million dollars. While bureaucrats have undoubtedly failed at properly planning for the inevitable, electric providers like Southern California Edison have to answer for their mistakes too. Currently, fire agencies are investigating a potential link to a downed powerline caused by heavy winds that could be responsible for the January 2025 Eaton Fire in Altadena. This is all too familiar, as the 2017 Thomas Fire that burned 281,893 acres across Ventura County was started when high winds caused power lines to blow into one another, causing an arc that sent molten material into brush igniting the disastrous blaze.
Nine of the top ten wildfires in California history, which include the Thomas Fire, have occurred within the last ten years, burning a total of 4,625,251 acres mostly in Northern and Central California. This represents just over 4.6% of the 100 million acres of land that makes up this state, which is a staggering statistic. With the Palisades and Eaton fires still burning in L.A. County (as of the date of this publication), the fear and danger of the devastation a wildfire can produce is hitting close to home for a lot of Angelinos. Many of the acres burning are not only forests and open spaces, but structures as well. The amount of toxic materials being produced by these infernos is dangerous if you are close enough to smell the fire, and is carried to neighboring cities. When a fire burns a structure, tens of thousands of toxic chemicals and gases are released. From The Red Guide to Recovery “Addressing Toxic Smoke Particulates in Fire Restoration”:
“One of the biggest health threats from smoke is from fine and ultra-fine particles. These microscopic particles can penetrate deep into the lungs and can cause a range of health problems, from burning eyes and a runny nose to aggravated chronic heart and lung diseases and cancer. Exposure to particle pollution is even linked to premature death. Exposure to smoke toxins can be far more hazardous to human health than mold, asbestos, lead, or other contaminants. Respiratory ailments, cardiac hazards, and cancers connected with exposures to an environment affected by a fire are far greater than those from the past, mainly because the materials used today to manufacture our products and their chemical composition have changed dramatically.”
Circulating Through the Air
When a wildfire burns, grasses, bushes and trees are consumed by the blaze, and produce smoke. This alone is enough to trigger coughing, asthma, and breathing difficulty whether or not you have a pre-existing lung condition. When homes and structures are burned, it is not just the lumber, drywall, and roofing that goes up in flames, but all the items inside as well. From TVs and computers, appliances, carpets, and flooring, to hazardous chemicals kept in garages, such as antifreeze, paint thinner, pesticides and herbicides, and even the cars themselves. These products are often composed of plastic, flame retardants, heavy metals, chlorofluorocarbon (CFC), mercury, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and polyurethane (PUR) foam. From “House Fires: The Fatal Danger Beyond the Flames”:
“When you inhale smoke from a fire, you’re really inhaling a combination of a bunch of toxic products,” Dr. [Baruch] Fertel [emergency department physician] says. “The ‘smoke’ is mostly carbon monoxide, but also contains cyanide. Many homes contain a lot of synthetic materials such as rubber, plastic or foam. When those materials burn, they can cause house fire cyanide poisoning.”
John Vaillant, author of the book “Fire Weather,” discussed the difference between wildfires in the past and fires now. In an interview with “Inside Climate News,” he went into detail about the reasons for the additional dangers, specifically in regard to the recent Los Angeles fires:
“When you have these mass conflagrations, which are much more common now, where you have hundreds, if not thousands, of houses burning, then you have in the air this kind of aerosol gas mix, not just of particulate wood smoke, but all the chemicals in the modern house. You have to go back to events like 9/11, where the first responders there have been coming down with all kinds of weird ailments, because so much was released that was inhaled by first responders. It’s one of the things that is going to be a legacy of this fire.”
While newer homes and modern homeowners might have homes filled with modern technology, such as computers and lithium batteries that when combusted are highly toxic, these aren’t the only dangers lurking in your home that can be dangerous if consumed by a blaze. Old homes are full of highly toxic materials that were used in the construction of the houses. Lead paint, asbestos, arsenic, styrene, and formaldehyde were allowed through the 1970s.When these toxic chemicals burn, they are released into the atmosphere where they are inhaled by unsuspecting locals and first responders. And even when the smoke has cleared, the danger remains. From Tarrytown Environmental, in regards to the 2018 Northern California “Camp Fire”:
“In the charred footprint of each home in Paradise lurks an invisible and dangerous legacy of the Camp Fire: toxic chemicals released by the blaze. There may be radioactive isotopes from burned-up antique crockware, cupboards of incinerated household cleaners, and asbestos from old siding. Heavy metals, chemicals and biological contaminants left behind demand a cleanup of extraordinary scale, before any permanent return to Paradise is safe …”
These threats are not only a concern if you’re a homeowner staying in your neighborhood, blasting your hoses in an attempt to save your home. The dangers exist for firefighters, rescue crews, volunteers, and the community at large who are sheltering in place as neighborhoods burn all around. Children are especially vulnerable because their lungs are still developing. According to the EPA, “Wildfire Smoke Factsheet: Protecting Children from Wildfire Smoke and Ash,” children should never be a part of the clean-up effort, as masks (even N95) are not designed to fit a child properly and therefore cannot protect them. It is imperative to check the air quality in your area. And if you’re curious about the red powder being dropped from planes down onto the border areas of the fires, it’s a compound fire retardant, meant to halt the spread of acreage consumed by flames and embers. In a large fire, thousands of gallons of this stuff may be used. The primary product sprinkled from above is called “Phos-Chek,” and is one of only a couple of fire retardants approved for aerial use by the Forest Service. As explained in “What is the flame retardant that planes are dropping on the LA fires?”:
“Air tankers and chemical fire retardants have been used since the 1950s, allowing firefighters to reach difficult spots. The U.S. Forest Service says retardants are used to ‘”slow the rate of spread by cooling and coating fuels, depleting the fire of oxygen, and slowing the rate of fuel combustion as the retardant’s inorganic salts change how fuels burn.”’
The retardant is composed of ammonium phosphate fertilizer, water, and rust (hence the red color), and the mixture may also include gums or other thickening agents. Now this isn’t the kind of fertilizer contained in explosives—ammonium nitrate. Phos-Chek uses monoammonium phosphate and diammonium phosphate. Should you be concerned about toxicity from this red layer? Well, due to environmental concerns, there is a ban from the Forest Service on implementing aerial drops of fire retardants over waterways and endangered species habitats. However, there is an exception to the rule: The ban is in effect ‘”except when human life or public safety are threatened.”’ In addition, Phos-Chek does not contain any substances on California’s Proposition 65 list, known to cause cancer and other chronic illnesses. The Forest Service also prohibits the use of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a.k.a. “forever chemicals” in wildfire retardants. And while heavy metals, such as cadmium and chromium, are not added to the fire retardant, they may be present as “naturally-occuring” substances.
Knowing Your Plan of Action
While there may be little you can do yourself to extinguish the flames of a raging wildfire, there is a lot you can do to protect yourself and your family from further danger if you are confronted with a wildfire in your area. Most importantly, get out as early as possible. Leaving at the last minute not only puts you at greater risk of being caught in a dangerous situation, it also creates traffic when others are trying to leave, compounding the danger of the situation for everyone. If you are in California, the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services has a list of shelters available. If you are outside of California, your state’s Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (GOES) should have a list of resources available. And whether you are in the path of fire or not, the smoke can be impacting you. Here are some tips to keep you as safe as possible:
- Have an emergency kit ready to go at all times, and easily accessible. Include the following items:
- At least three days worth of nonperishable food, and three gallons of water per person (also account for pets)
- Medicines and supplements, including sleep aids
- Herbs to reduce stress: Ex: Holy basil and rhodiola
- Toothbrush, toothpaste, and your go-to cosmetics
- A few changes of clothes, jacket, warm hat, scarf
- Blankets and your favorite pillow
- Eyeglasses and contact lenses
- Cash, credit cards, ID, and spare keys for vehicles
- Basic first aid kit
- Maps of your areas in case cell service and GPS are down
- Flashlights, candles, matches, and a battery operated radio with extra batteries
- Back-up battery packs for your phone, tablet, and laptop (consider solar); chargers and cables
- Copies (or originals) of important documents (birth certificate, passport, social security card)
- Emergency water filter, N95 or P100 masks
- Generator and a couple cans of fuel
- In the case of evacuation, having a plan ahead of time is ideal. Understand that evacuation “warnings” are your cue to be alert, tune in to fire updates (“Watch Duty,” a non-profit, non-partisan, and non-government organization provides a free app to monitor wildfires), and consider packing a bag … or a few. If you do not have a full tank of gas in your vehicle, now is the time to get to the station and fill up. Many people choose to stay at home during these warnings, and it’s totally up to you. On the other hand, evacuation “orders” means GO. Leaving is in your best interest for your safety, as well as ensuring noninterference when firefighters and first responders work to extinguish the wildfire. Having a destination set up in advance of evacuating will save you unnecessary added stress in an already taxing time. Talk to family and friends who live outside your area (not having to drive more than an hour or two is ideal), and get the okay to join them if this situation arises.
- In addition to your practical, emergency kit items listed above, give thought to those super-meaningful belongings you would hate to lose. Consider notes and cards from loved ones, small family heirlooms, and paw prints or old blankets from your much-loved dogs or cats. Know where these things are in your home, and in what bag or tote you will contain them.
- Close all doors and windows. If there are gaps or cracks where smoke is coming in, use damp towels, tape, or some type of sealant to keep it out. Look for unexpected areas where smoke may be coming in, like bathroom or kitchen vents, and seal those off if possible.
- If you have an HVAC system, when you run it make sure it is set to recirculation, or manually close the fresh air intake. You do not want to pull the outside air inside your home, only to
“condition” the air already inside. - If you use a portable air conditioner that vents its hose out the window, you may want to temporarily remove the hose, and close and seal the window to block smoke from entering. If you have a window AC unit try to close the damper, and do not run the unit. Use a fan to cool or circulate air.
- Wear N95 or P100 masks or respirators when you need to leave your home or go outside. Make sure you are using them correctly.
- Avoid activities indoors that contribute to poor air quality, such as smoking/vaping, using propane, gas, or wood stoves and furnaces, frying or broiling food, burning candles and incense, and vacuuming (unless it has a clean HEPA filter), as it can kick up more ash, soot, and dust.
- Run an air purifier that has a HEPA filter to reduce particulates, and a large carbon filter to reduce the smell of smoke. Look for a filter that has a MERV 13 rating or higher, which is designed to trap a greater percentage of particulates. During active wildfires, you may have a hard time sourcing air filters, as they could be sold out. In this case, you can make one yourself with a box fan and HEPA filter. While this may not be ideal, it has been shown to be effective at reducing harmful particulates, and that is what is most important.
It is important to support your body as it struggles with smoke inhalation from the poor air quality, caused by active and smoldering fires. Consider the following:
- Stay hydrated with purified water. Drinking half your body weight in ounces of water is a good formula to follow.
- Slippery elm and Marshmallow root are two mucilaginous herbs (protective of mucous membranes) that can form a protective film in your sinuses and lungs. Herbs like licorice, plantain, and mullein are both demulcent (soothing/healing) and expectorant (able to loosen mucus), so they will support a struggling respiratory tract. These herbs can be made into tea to sip on throughout the day.
- Use a diffuser or boil water with lavender, rosemary, cedar, thyme, or eucalyptus (plant or essential oil), as these can help with the smoke odor and potentially capture particulates in the air as they attach to the oil and water. Beware of diffusing oils if you have animals, as some can be toxic.
- You can use a neti pot or saline rinse to clear your sinuses of any particulates that may be accumulating in those areas.
Of course being prepared for an unexpected disaster by having an emergency kit ready would be best, but that’s not always possible. If you find yourself in this situation and you are stuck in your home without water, or if your tap water has been compromised by contaminants, you may have to rely on non-potable water for drinking. In this scenario, securing an emergency water filter for your family will be critical. However, you will need to find a store that has one in stock, otherwise you will have to wait to have one delivered. You may be tempted to go into survival mode and “DIY” your water filtration using natural materials like sand or charcoal filters (which can be done). Just be sure you are certain of what you are doing before attempting this method, as contaminated water can cause illness and death. Boiling water as well as using iodine can get rid of microorganisms, but they will do nothing for pollutants and contaminants.
A potential roadblock you may encounter is a lack of power. Candles and flashlights can help you see when it’s dark, but if your refrigerator is without power, your food can spoil in as little as four hours. In a situation where your power will be out for an extended amount of time, you will need a generator. An average to large fridge will need a 2,000–5,000 watt generator to power it. If you’d like to power your whole home to have access to lights, electronics, and appliances, you would need a generator with at least 16,000–36,000 watts of power (or more),and they will run upwards of $5,000–$25,000. While most generators are run on fuel (which may be hard to secure during an emergency), many portable generators are now solar, but are significantly more expensive than conventional ones. While these measures may not be feasible during your time of need, preparing for the future should be part of your family’s conversation once you are out of harm’s way. In the meantime, if you are without water and/or power, consider staying with friends or family living outside the affected area until normalcy returns. If you have no other option but to stay at home, and are in need of basic necessities, contact your local food banks or Red Cross for assistance. Also be aware of resourceful social media groups in your surrounding neighborhoods that you can access for support and community. For Los Angeles residents that are impacted in any way by the fires, KCRW has compiled a list of resources to help. Above all else, remember your life is more valuable than anything else. Material possessions can be replaced, but you cannot.
As of January 30, 2025, at least 29 people have lost their lives in the L.A. wildfires, including family members that got separated from each other during evacuation. Immediate loss of life during an active wildfire is not the only concern. Edmond Sarraf, a Los Angeles-based holistic pediatrician who lost his home in the Pacific Palisades fire, shared ongoing concerns for L.A. residents that will continue to occur long after the fires are fully contained. Following discussions with air and environmental experts, he spoke of the lingering dangers of microscopic toxins (unseen and without odor) that are not measured by air quality (AQI). Water contaminated with volatile organic chemicals (VOCs) from the fire takes at least six months to clear out of water lines, and can cause cancer and leukemia. It will take at least two years to clean out the considerable ash and dust—irritating nose, eyes, and skin—that is left scattered over many miles. These fire events were equivalent to a bomb being detonated in a war, yet in that situation the entire city would be evacuated. The best way to navigate fire danger is to have a specific game plan, discuss it with your family and friends, prepare your emergency kit, stay in close contact with loved ones if a wildfire breaks out in your vicinity, do your best to stay calm, and please, evacuate early.
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Published on January 15, 2025.
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