Los Angeles wildfires and smoke have triggered air quality alerts and residents all around the United States’ second-largest city are worried about their lung health.
They are complaining that their lungs are affected due to the ash, soot and smoke from fires that have destroyed 10,000 structures.
Death And Devastation
Los Angeles County this week has been devastated by two major wildfires that have killed at least 10 people as of Friday morning and destroyed more than 10,000 structures, authorities said, making them among the worst natural disasters in California history.
Warning About Consequences Of Wildfire Smoke
Schools canceled classes and scientists warned about the dangerous -even fatal – consequences of wildfire smoke.
Los Angeles officials urged people to stay indoors in areas where smoke was visible.
A Hovering Haze
The Los Angeles fires that broke out on Tuesday, have relentlessly burned more than 34,000 acres (13,760 hectares), or some 53 square miles (137 sq km).
The wildfires were fueled by strong winds and dry conditions.
Neighborhoods have turned to ash in some parts of Los Angeles.
While conditions improved on Friday, an air quality alert remained in effect until the evening and dangerous particulate matter remained around four times World Health Organization guidelines.
Business was however brisk at Teddy’s Cocina in Pasadena as wildfire evacuees ate lunch and passersby ducked indoors to escape from the brown, smoky air blanketing the city.
“It’s not breathable,” said Dulce Perez, a cook at the restaurant, as an eye-watering haze hung overhead on Thursday about two miles (3.2 km) away from one of the multiple fires burning around Los Angeles.
“We just try to stay indoors,” said Perez.
Sale Of Air Purifiers
Air purifiers were sold out at some big-box stores, according to interviews with employees at four businesses.
Some residents were taping windows to keep the smoke out of their homes.
Distribution Of Masks
At the Pasadena Convention Center, which has been converted to a temporary shelter, aid workers from Sean Penn’s global humanitarian organization, CORE, were handing out N95 masks on Friday.
Emergency response programs manager Sunny Lee said the homeless were particularly vulnerable to bad air.
“There was no place for them to go inside, and so they were suffering even more outside with the poor air quality, without any kind of masks,” said Lee.
“So, we pushed out N95 to our partners that reached those communities. We are distributing as many as we can.”
Wildfire Smoke More Toxic Than Normal Air Pollution
Wildfire smoke typically carries with it noxious gases and particulate matter that make it more toxic than normal air pollution.
Not only do wildfires burn plants, brush and trees, but also buildings, houses and cars that contain plastics, fuels, metals and a host of chemicals.
Studies have linked wildfire smoke with higher rates of heart attacks, strokes, and cardiac arrests as well as weakened immune defenses.
Warning By Health Scientists And Doctors
Environmental health scientists and doctors warned that particulate matter posed a hazard to people with preexisting lung and heart conditions as well as the elderly and children.
Carlos Gould, an environmental health scientist at the University of California San Diego, said the concentration of fine particulate matter in the Los Angeles area reached alarming levels between 40 and 100 micrograms per cubic meter earlier in the week before declining to around 20 on Friday.
The WHO recommended maximum is 5 micrograms per cubic meter.
“The levels of wildfire smoke we’ve seen in LA these past few days imply between a 5-15% increase in daily mortality,” Gould said.
Chemical byproducts from the fires, particularly those stemming from burned man-made materials, penetrate deeper into the lungs and can even enter the bloodstream, said Dr. Afif El-Hasan, a spokesperson for the American Lung Association.
“If you’re working harder to breathe and your body is being challenged that way, it can also put a strain on the heart. And that’s why you see an increase in heart attacks,” said El-Hasan.
Smoke Outside Immediate Fire Zone
Even well outside the immediate fire zone, residents complained about the smoke.
With winds blowing wildfire smoke out to sea, customers at the Potholder Cafe in the coastal community of Long Beach declined to sit outdoors.
Manager Veronica Gutierrez said she bought an air purifier for her home, but it has made little difference.
“We definitely have the smell of burning,” said Gutierrez.
For some people across Los Angeles, the risks will not end when the fires are put out, experts warned.
Long-Term Health Effects
Justin Gillenwater, Burn Director at the Los Angeles General Medical Center, expected long-term health impacts from smoke inhalation among people with respiratory conditions and allergies.
“This is going to be something that we’re going to be looking into for not just weeks, but really years,” he said.
