LA Fires Pose High Smoke Risk; It's Not Just Massive Particulate Pollution, It's Also Toxins From Burned Cars, Buildings
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Wildfire smoke can be especially dangerous for certain populations, including those with pre-existing conditions like asthma and COPD, pregnant people, those who are low-income or unhoused who may not have access to indoor clean-air spaces, and very young children whose respiratory systems are still developing. “While air quality index levels in LA have reached levels known to be hazardous for everyone, we’re particularly concerned about smoke exposures among a few groups who might be disproportionately exposed or more likely to experience health impacts as a result of wildfire smoke,” said Claire Schollaert, a postdoctoral scholar at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health.
In 2023, New York City saw a dramatic rise in emergency room visits, many related to asthma attacks, when smoke blew into the city from Canadian wildfires. New York had the advantage of not needing to battle those flames, so those needing medical care could still easily access a hospital. But as buildings across Los Angeles are burning, damaged facilities and staff unable to work could cause difficulty for those seeking immediate care.
Joel Kaufman, a professor of environmental health and medicine at the University of Washington, explained why a wildfire in an urban location such as Los Angeles is particularly hard to predict in terms of air quality effects.
“What’s a little bit different in this fire is that we don’t really know the toxicity of a fire that includes so much in the way of buildings that have burned and anthropogenic materials,” Kaufman said. “What’s burning in the businesses and in all the houses are not the same things that would burn in a forest fire. Some of what’s getting in the air can have toxic effects that we don’t really know at this point.”
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https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/13/los-angeles-wildfires-smoke-exposures