Researchers call for Newsom to pay for post-fire soil tests in Los Angeles County
A group of environmental researchers called on the News Magazine Administration to step in and pay for soil tests to destroy thousands of homes in the Eaton and Palisades wildfires.
Nearly 12 university professors wrote a letter Wednesday to Gov. Gavin Newsom and California Environmental Protection Agency Secretary Yana Garcia, imploring state officials not to abandon California’s wildfire capture program, a long-term policy of soil sampling in destroyed houses after cleaning staff completes removal of drug ash and a layer of upper layers.
Gov. Gavin Newsom attended a press conference at Odyssey Charter School as work began removing debris from the Eaton Fire in January.
(Yamada/Los Angeles Times)
As federal disaster agencies repeatedly refused to perform soil sampling to ensure that burned houses do not contain unhealthy toxic substances, researchers believe the state must intervene in the ongoing recovery efforts of the Palisades and Eton wildfires.
“At present, the state does not need or recommend parcel-specific soil testing, or target residential properties affected by the Eaton Fire Department and the Palisade fire,” the letter reads. “We believe this poses serious risks to public health and the economic recovery in the community.”
The letter was signed by faculty and staff at nine universities, including UCLA and UCLA, many of whom are currently participating in free soil testing for homeowners in and around the burning areas of wildfires in January. Among them, Purdue University professor Andrew Whelton, who investigated pollution after the wildfire, said comprehensive soil testing is crucial to the health and safety of communities affected by the fire.
“The past of deciding not to conduct soil testing (without any advanced warning) has really brought about personal safety and the ability of the community to recover quickly in the air,” Walton said.
State officials said federal authorities were responsible for wildfire recovery efforts, including decisions on soil testing and remediation. State officials have asked FEMA to reconsider paying for soil testing, but the request was denied within a few hours.
“The state continues to promote our federal partners to conduct comprehensive soil sampling as part of the debris removal process,” said Calepa spokesman Nefretiri Cooley.
The university’s researchers highlighted the latest soil testing efforts by the Los Angeles Times and the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, finding that lead and arsenic levels increased in destroyed homes cleaned by federal waste removal personnel in Altadena.
The Army Corps of Engineers, the agency responsible for deleting debris, declined to comment on the county’s performance. A FEMA spokesman said the agency still insists that its cleaning methods—removing wildfire debris and up to 6 inches of topsoil—are sufficient to eliminate immediate public health risks.
The Los Angeles County Health Department has allocated up to $3 million to cover soil testing, mainly for homeowners with toxic smoke and ash downwind from the Eaton Fire. But Walton said the efforts themselves are not enough to analyze the risks.
“A soil sample will be analyzed, where the homeowner obeys the commercial lab, and then the homeowner will have to interpret the data on his own and decide what to do,” Wheelton said. “So that won’t make people [back] Safe again. ”
A worker cleared debris from homes destroyed in April in the Palisade fire in the Pacific.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
Local officials continued to stress the need for a quick recovery, partly because of their concerns about a sharp drop in tax revenue. According to the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation, federal, state and local governments could lose tax revenues from about $730 million to $1.4 billion due to wildfires, a nonprofit focused on economic growth, the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation.
In a meeting earlier this week, Los Angeles County officials announced a new plan that promises to allow licensed architects and engineers to “self-certify” that residential reconstructions comply with building regulations with the help of artificial intelligence software that reviews building plans. The plan aims to significantly speed up the timeline for issuing building permits.
More than 10,000 properties have been registered for cleaning up through federal debris demolition personnel. So far, they have cleaned up about 4,700 properties that are now eligible for rebuilding permits without soil testing.
In the past, disaster agencies conducted soil testing on cleanup properties to ensure that toxic substances do not exceed California residential property standards. On properties found to be toxic above state standards, the disaster agency ordered cleaners to return to remove more soil and perform additional tests.
If state officials get rid of soil testing policies, some environmental experts say hundreds of homes in Altadena and Pacific Palisades will remain contaminated, potentially exposing return residents to toxic metals such as lead. But perhaps even more worrying, it could also set a precedent for the future champions of California communities being destroyed by wildfires.
In California, where 30% of the state’s population lives in high-risk fire zones, buildings mixed with wilderness, destructive wildfires are inevitable. But after the Eaton and Palisade fires, many homeowners were confused about the responsibilities of federal and state agencies during the disaster cleanup.
“It’s appropriate to discuss who is responsible for soil testing and soil restoration after these wildfires,” Wheelton said. “But because multiple government agencies don’t make a sudden decision, this leaves a large number of anxious property owners and a way for how they will make their property safe again – or if they want to return.”
