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Santa Monica beaches have been open for months to swim and surf, but experts said Monday that the water and its beaches may not be safe six months after the Palisades fired.
The Los Angeles County Public Health Department lifted its coastal seawater advisory in April. Chemical contamination is no longer a concern, but post-fire wreckage can still be dangerous for beach fans, according to Ashley Oersen of the California Coastal Alliance.
“They all recommend avoiding 150 feet of debris, but in this situation it’s almost impossible. It’s everywhere,” Oersen said.
The sand is now dark and rough, with millions of fragments being injected primarily from the palisade fire.
He said recommendations from the department and other groups tracking the aftermath of the fire on the sand were good.
“My family’s rule is, ‘Don’t swim in this water,’ Oersen said.
Oelsen feared that the illness could expose the illness to toxins that had not affected health until much later, reflecting the illness that affected his first responders on 9/11.
“It’s certainly different environments, different situations, but be more careful and thoughtful,” Oelsen said.
Oelsen said she and her family are no longer swimming in the water, but Heal the Bay disagreed with a nonprofit that partners with public agencies to measure fire-related toxicity levels, but said recent water and sand testing has not revealed an urgent or fatal threat.
“We can’t say clearly that the beaches, the water and sand, are safe,” said President and CEO Tracy Quinn. “We don’t see concentration that appears to pose a risk to human health.”
If you are swimming in the water, the best way to stay safe is to take a shower later and put on shoes in the sand.
Heal the Bay encourages beach fans to avoid the outflow of rustic canyons within burn areas and within 100 yards at Will Rogers Beach, Santa Monica.
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