Now that you can return home after the fires, how do you clean up safely?
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- Health experts suggest you wait before returning to an evacuation zone to check on your fire-damaged home.
- If you plan to visit a burn zone, take precautions such as wearing gloves, an N95 mask, a long-sleeved shirt and sturdy shoes.
Now that authorities are allowing residents to return to fire evacuation zones to see what’s left of their homes, health experts say it’s safer to wait a while before venturing into the burn areas.
But if you plan on seeing with your own eyes what has become of your home, there are some precautions you can take to protect your health.
This article is provided free of charge to help keep our community safe and supported during these devastating fires.
Los Angeles County officials gave the word this week that as many as 11,000 people will be able to return to their homes.
But authorities are still concerned about residents coming into contact with the hazardous materials that have been left behind by the unprecedented blaze.
Earlier this week, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed executive orders aimed at expediting recovery, emphasizing the importance of removing hazardous waste from the burn scars to ensure safe recovery.
On Wednesday, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health issued an order prohibiting the cleanup or removal of fire debris at fire-damaged and burned properties in critical fire areas, including the areas of the Palisades, Eaton, Kenneth, Creek, Hurst and Lidia fires, until a hazardous materials inspection is completed by an approved government agency.
Federal and state environmental agencies are preparing to survey fire-ravaged properties.
“We understand completely that people are anxious to get back onto their property,” said Yana Garcia, California Environmental Protection Agency secretary. “But I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to have hazardous waste removed by trained personnel with protective equipment.”
Hazards in the area can include “things like batteries, ammunition, propane tanks, pesticides, even household cleaning products that can become extremely volatile and toxic when exposed to heat and fire,” Garcia said.
As firefighters contended with another day of dry, windy conditions, residents continued to confront their losses and the pain of not being able to return home.
Among those who have lost their home to the Palisades fire is Dr. Ashraf M. Elsayegh, a pulmonologist with Providence Saint John’s Health Center, who hasn’t returned to his residence to assess the damage and isn’t in a hurry to do so.
During a news conference at the hospital on Thursday, Elsayegh said his family will eventually want to go back to their home to see if anything is salvageable, he said.
“I think I’m going to wait as long as possible and if I do go, I will use all the proper precautions,” Elsayegh said.
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The doctor expressed serious caution about returning to the fire zone because of the harmful chemicals that are in the ash that is coating the damaged and remaining homes.
Researchers still don’t completely understand the scope of just how harmful urban fire ash is in the immediate area and its effect on surrounding communities.
What experts do know is that urban fires are more toxic than wildfires because of the chemicals emanating from burned homes, items inside the homes and cars.
Part of the reason behind the lack of available data is because “we have nothing to compare it to [because the Los Angeles-area fires are] a combination of wildfire as well as urban fire,” which poses different risks than a wildfire alone, he said.
Elsayegh described the Los Angeles-area fires as “the largest urban fire in modern United States history.”
The only somewhat comparable urban fire incident Elsayegh could point to was the Sept. 11, 2001, attack on New York’s World Trade Center, which he was present for.
In the months that followed the 9/11 attack, first responders and residents were exposed to a hazardous mix of asbestos, silica dust, heavy metals and other dangerous chemicals left behind by the massive amounts of ash, dust and debris created when the towers collapsed.
“If we learned anything [from Sept. 11, it is that] we probably went back too soon,” he said.
Experts don’t have an exact timeline of when people should head back to burn areas; their main advice is to listen to local authorities.
“Which is easier said than done because we’re all going to want to rebuild at some point,” Elsayegh said.
For those who lost their homes to the wildfires around Los Angeles, filing for an insurance claim is one of many tasks to take care of in the aftermath.
What harmful chemicals are in the immediate area of burned homes
When you are allowed back into a once-evacuated area, experts warn that you should wear protective gear.
“The ash lives for about two years in any particular area, so it’s going to be around for a while,” Elsayegh said.
The ash contains volatile organic compounds that can include benzene, silica, asbestos, lead, hydrogen cyanide and hydrogen fluoride. A majority of these compounds are carcinogens.
These compounds come from older burning homes, cars, furniture and even cleaning products inside the home, he said.
If you’re returning to a burn area to survey the damage or digging through the rubble for family heirlooms, for example, you’re exposing yourself to the harmful chemicals.
These toxins can affect your heart, bloodstream and even gastrointestinal tract, Elsayegh said.
“We’ve seen before that after large wildfires, we have asthma exacerbations, chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder, emphysema, bronchitis, pneumonia and lung infections,” he said.
Long-term health effects can include lung cancer, pulmonary fibrosis or silicosis.
Elsayegh again points to the World Trade Center and said “about 20% to 25% of all of the people exposed to the [9/11 plume of smoke and ash] are still requiring medical care for their lungs.”
How to protect your health if you have to leave your medicines behind.
How to protect yourself when assessing your residence
Before you enter any burn site, Elsayegh recommends you get a tetanus shot.
There’s going to be a lot of metal and possibly rusted nails in these areas and if you get a cut, there’s a high risk for a tetanus infection.
You can make an appointment for a tetanus shot at the following locations:
- Your local and preferred pharmacy such as CVS, Walgreens or Rite Aid.
- The California Department of Public Health has an online appointment site called My Turn that helps you find a walk-in clinic.
- The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health website has three listed multiservice vaccination sites, two in the city of Los Angeles and one in Santa Clarita. It’s recommended that you call ahead to see if they offer tetanus shots before visiting. Walk-ins are available.
The tetanus booster shot is recommended every 10 years. If you haven’t had a booster, Elsayegh recommends you get one.
The protective gear to wear when visiting a burn site should include:
- An N95 mask. Cloth and surgical masks and bandannas allow too much air in and don’t filter out finer particles.
- Protective eyewear such as goggles, not glasses.
- Work gloves.
- A long-sleeved shirt and pants.
- Sturdy shoes with thick soles.
Once you’re done visiting a burn area and you return to your temporary lodging, remove all your clothes and protective gear outside before you enter the residence to reduce exposing others inside the home.
You’re dealing with potential asbestos compounds in the ash, and after being exposed to them, they can cling to your clothes and skin.
If any part of your skin was exposed to the ash during your visit, Elsayegh said to use baby wipes to clean it off and then immediately take a shower.
My home was saved. How can I clean it?
If there is ash collected outside of your home, experts suggest you not sweep it or use a leaf blower because you can blow it back up into the air.
Instead, mist the ash with water, gather it into a trash bag and throw it away in your trash bin.
Do not use a garden hose to soak the ash because you’ll just create a toxic sludge.
When you’re able to return to your home that wasn’t damaged by the fires, the inside of the home will have ash particles.
Do not sweep, dust or use a regular vacuum to clean up the ash particles. Instead, use a vacuum with a HEPA filter to clear away small particles left in the home, Pasadena city officials advise.
They advised that commercial cleaning may be needed for carpet, upholstery and window treatments.
If your home is still standing after this year’s wildfires, you may be wondering how to get out the clingy smell of smoke.
Who shouldn’t be a part of cleanup efforts?
Children, pregnant women and those with asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, chronic heart disease or diabetes should avoid cleaning up fire damage or ash.
Symptoms to look out for and where to get help
If you are visiting a burn area or have been volunteering in affected communities, experts say you should look out for symptoms of exposure such as upper respiratory tract infections, asthma exacerbation, shortness of breath and allergic-type reactions.
If you aren’t feeling well, call your doctor for further consultation.
You can also call Providence Saint John’s Health Center’s newly established disaster relief pulmonary clinic for a consultation at (310) 829-8618.
Deputy features editor Marques Harper contributed to this report.
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