Major disasters like the LA fire expose both residents and firefighters to huge risks. At the time of writing, the current fires have already claimed 24 lives. And that number may well go up. But that’s just the acute immediate effect of the fire and smoke. What are the longer term health effects from such huge disasters?
A perfect (fire) storm
The LA fire storms have been a true natural disaster. All wildland fires destroy communities and cause billions in damage. But these latest fires have seemed truly apocalyptic at times. The fires have been fanned by winds that have reached hurricane force. Those same winds have made airborne firefighting hard or even impossible at times. And the sheer scale of the fires led to catastrophic drops in water pressure in LA’s fire hydrants. Together, these factors have seen the fires cause unprecedented destruction.
The impact of large-scale fires
The short term effects of natural disasters are extremely visible and tragic, the longer term impacts are harder to see. Such fires destroy large areas and leave visible scars on the land for many years to come. But much of the visible damage is soon rectified. However, the health impacts may last for years to come.
Short term health impacts
In the short term, these fires can cause all manner of acute medical issues. For firefighters and residents, these include:
- Heat exhaustion
- Breathing difficulties from inhaling smoke
- Acute exposure to toxins from burning structures
- Dehydration
- Cardiovascular events
- Burns
All of these have the potential to be life-changing or even fatal.
Longer term health impacts
Modern houses are full of all manner of manmade substances. When they burn, the smoke contains a toxic cocktail of chemicals. These chemicals include volatile organic compounds, heavy metals, and more. Most of these compounds are highly toxic and can be absorbed through the skin or mucous membranes, as well as by inhalation and ingestion.
Wildland fires are typically fought using water collected from lakes and reservoirs. This water is often polluted with a variety of chemicals, such as PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances). All too often, industrial and manufacturing facilities are also destroyed or damaged. This can lead to spills and releases of toxic chemicals that pollute groundwater in the area.
Who is at risk?
The pollution and toxins released during these events put whole populations at increased risk.
First responders
The first responders dealing with the disaster and its fallout are at greatest risk. Their safety gear should offer them some level of protection from the worst of the acute effects. But the nature of disasters is that safety protocols are often ignored or are impossible to maintain. For instance, in a standard structural fire, the crew fighting the blaze would be equipped with self-contained breathing apparatus. However, when the fire is on the scale of those seen in LA, it becomes logistically impossible to provide SCBA. Thus, the firefighters are getting directly exposed to the toxic chemicals in the air.
Residents
Local residents are also exposed both in the short and long term. The smoke plume from the LA fires is traveling huge distances, thanks to the strong winds that are driving the disaster. This smoke contains all sorts of toxins that may be breathed in by people downwind. Fortunately, much of this smoke is blowing out to the ocean at present. But these toxins will dissolve out into rain and can end up in groundwater or watercourses. In turn, this leads to well water getting polluted. This is also true for the ash from the structures that were destroyed. This ash is also whipped up into the air and falls over a wide area, causing pollution and exposing people to toxins for many years to come.
Toxins released in fires
There are several key types of toxin that may be released by fires such as these.
Chemicals released by burning structures
Structure fires release an astonishing array of toxins. They are far too numerous to list. But they include:
- Metals, often released from burning wood that has been treated with preservatives. These include arsenic, boron, and lead, all of which are highly toxic.
- Volatile organic compounds, such as phenols, styrene, and benzene. These cause cancer, asthma, and other long term health effects.
- Semi-volatile organic compounds, including PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, a class of compounds that causes cancer, immune system damage, and more.
- Inorganic gases, such as carbon monoxide, ammonia, and hydrogen fluoride. These cause chemical irritation, lung damage, and asphyxiation.
And there are many more (the Red Guide to Recovery lists over 40 compounds that are frequently found on fire sites after the fire is extinguished).
PFAS
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances or PFAS are manmade chemicals that have numerous applications including nonstick cookware, food packaging, waterproof clothing, and stain-resistant furnishings. They are known as forever chemicals because they persist for years in the environment or human body. Evidence increasingly links these compounds to a range of serious health conditions from cancer to reproductive issues.
Chemical spills
When we think of wild fires we imagine large areas of forest or scrubland burning, potentially with a few villages and remote communities at risk. However, as the LA fires show, fires can also impact dense residential, commercial, and industrial zoned areas. So, what happens if the fire consumes a small manufacturing site? Or a gas station? Or an automobile paint shop? This can lead to all sorts of toxic chemicals being released into the environment. Many of these chemicals are carcinogenic and bioaccumulative.
Why does this matter?
People are already counting the huge cost of the LA fires. Lives lost, residents left traumatized, homes destroyed, businesses wrecked, and communities ripped apart. But without an unprecedented clean up operation, the costs will continue to grow. Residents and first responders will fall sick from the toxins they have been exposed to and lives will continue to be disrupted for years to come.
