By Sarah Currie-Halpern
The scenes of wildfire devastation coming out of Los Angeles this month are nothing short of horrifying. As of January 20, the Palisades and Eaton fires have burned nearly 40,000 acres and destroyed more than 14,000 homes and structures. Those numbers are only expected to rise, even as containment progresses.
Without downplaying the heroic coordinated efforts of firefighters from across the U.S., Canada, and Mexico in containing the blazes, it’s important to acknowledge that the ecological cost of the LA fires is even greater than it initially appears. Much of the damage done by wildfires seems obvious, visible in neighborhoods reduced to charred concrete foundations or entire forests turned into blackened wastelands. The wildfire damage that isn’t obvious, however, is also incredibly harmful to humans and the environment, and it continues long after the fires are extinguished and evacuees are allowed to return home.
When a wildfire burns through a neighborhood, it burns through a huge combination of man-made materials: asphalt, synthetic plastics, textiles, paint, acid batteries, cleaning chemicals, and the like. As those materials are incinerated, they’re released into the air in the form of smoke and ash, all of which is highly carcinogenic. Researchers studying smoke from fires affecting wildland- urban interfaces—a term for transitional zones where unoccupied wildland and developed areas meet—found it contained a huge array of toxic chemicals and compounds, including hydrogen chloride, formaldehyde, lead, arsenic, and benzene.
The lingering smoke and ash emitted from wildfires is the source of wildfires’ hidden environmental damage and waste problem. Just because a home was unaffected by a fire does not mean it is unaffected by the cloud of toxic ash and smoke created by that fire. Still standing does not equal safe for habitation.
Your average suburban home isn’t airtight or built to withstand extreme heat and smoke. Upon returning home, residents often find that the air inside is even worse than the air outside. Their beds, couches, and carpets reek of smoke and chemicals. Having been saturated with toxic smoke, none of these soft goods can be safely used again. They must be thrown away.
A deep clean is not always sufficient, especially in cases when the extent of toxic smoke absorption goes beyond furniture. Insulation is subject to contamination, and ash can coat and seep into walls. Car interiors can become so contaminated that the vehicle is basically unusable without being totally stripped. If the level of carcinogens is high enough, an otherwise perfectly good house must be condemned and torn down. This creates hundreds if not thousands of tons of waste.
It’s far too early to estimate the amount of waste created by the LA fires, but recent history can provide us with some idea of the scale. According to CalRecycle, the nine-month debris removal project following the 2018 Camp Fire amassed over 3.6 million tons of ash, debris, metal, concrete, and contaminated soil. The 2021 Marshall Fire sent 103,663 tons of ash and debris into landfills, although communities were able to recycle some 64,648 tons of brick and concrete. And that’s just official cleanup, meaning these numbers don’t necessarily reflect the waste created by individuals getting rid of contaminated carpets and couches.
Even firefighting methods can contribute to the problem. Pink fire retardant dropped on fires from overhead contains heavy metals like chromium and cadmium. These remain on the landscape after the fire has been extinguished and poison soil and waterways. A 2024 study estimated fire retardant was responsible for dumping over 830,000 pounds of toxic metals into the environment between 2009 and 2021.
Right now the focus in Los Angeles necessarily remains on extinguishing the remaining fires. Once that is accomplished, residents and waste management will face an extremely difficult situation. Deep cleaning should be utilized when and where possible, and buying secondhand when replacing what must be thrown out will help alleviate the environmental cost. Recycling efforts are crucial, as are measures to keep contaminated waste and fire retardant from leaching into the soil. There is no easy or immediate solution to the waste challenge that lies ahead, but it cannot go ignored or unaddressed. The future of fire management must consider contamination and waste generation, in addition to prevention and containment, and it should begin in Los Angeles.
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